You Didn't Steal The Shoes
by PrincessNala
Summary: Zero was different. He wasn’t like the other boys in D-tent. He didn’t speak a single word to him, but he didn’t need to, because somehow, Stanley knew. There was just… something about him. Something... Well, just something. SLASH Stanley/Zero
1. Chapter 1

**Heya everyone :) Ok, I've always loved Holes since it came out all those years ago, and I still love it just as much now, but now I've decided to do a fanfic on it :) Really, I should've done this years ago, but I never really considered it until I watched the film last week for the first time in AGES and fell back in love with Khleo Thomas, and decided that Stanley and Zero made the cutest couple ever. Haha, nothing like a bit of slash to motivate me XD**

**So yeah, this is going to be Stanley/Zero pairing. Dont like, dont read, a'ight? :D**

**Ok, DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING to do with Holes, or the characters or whatever, I'm just borrowing them for this fic :D This is going to basically stay pretty true to the movie, with the same dialogue from the film too, but with a few slashier bits added in of my own. So read on and review and let me know what you think, and if you think I should continue it.**

**Rated T for now, just in case, but I might change it later on, depends how I feel ^^**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1:

Zero was different. Stanley could tell that from the very moment he laid eyes on him. He wasn't like the other boys in D-tent. The boy didn't speak a single word to him, but he didn't need to, because somehow, Stanley knew. There was just… something about him. Something… well, just something.

"And this is Zero. Say hello to Stanley, Zero."

Zero stayed silent.

"You wanna know why they call him Zero? Because there's nothing going on in his stupid little head." Dr Pendanski said, mockingly placing his hands either side of Zero's head and ruffling the springy black curls. Zero didn't react at all; he didn't even blink. He just stayed exactly where he was, lounged back on his bed with his arms folded loosely across his stomach as he stared steadily straight ahead. Stanley looked over at him but the boy didn't acknowledge him at all, blocking him out just as easily as he blocked out Pendanski and the rest of the D-tent boys.

One of the boys stepped forwards, diverting Stanley's attention from Zero to him.

"Did you tell him about the lizards?" He asked, his bright blue eyes wide with eagerness and a little bit of what Stanley thought to be pure batshit crazy. His dirty blond hair was sticking up all over his head, defying gravity, looking like he'd just stuck his finger in a plug socket. Zigzag, wasn't it? That's what Magnet had called him a few seconds ago.

"Ricky, let's not scare Stanley." Dr Pendanski admonished the crazy-haired boy.

"Hey, his name's not Ricky." Another boy, the one who called himself X-ray, interrupted hotly, glaring a little through his dusty glasses at Pendanski from where he sat on his bed. How could he even see through those things? There couldn't have been more than a tiny circle of vision through all that grime and dust. "It's Zigzag, a'ight?"

Pendanski smiled, turning back to face Stanley again, who was feeling way out of his depth right now as he stared almost in horror around the tent, wishing he was anywhere but here.

"Stanley, if you have any questions, just ask Theodore. Theodore will be your mentor." Pendanski said, moving over to Armpit's bed and pulling the hat off of the boy's head. "Got that, Theodore?"

Armpit rolled his eyes, looking less than impressed.

"Yeah, man. Whatever, dude." He grunted in annoyance. Stanley didn't think he'd dare ask Theodore for anything. To be honest, he didn't think he'd dare ask _any _of the D tent boys for anything. Stanley had been bullied a lot at school, but those bullies back there were nowhere near as intimidating as X-ray, Armpit, Zigzag and the rest of them. Maybe it was because Stanley knew that they were all here at Camp Green Lake for reasons that weren't exactly legal. He could be sharing a tent with thieves, drug dealers and homicidal psychopaths for all he knew. And he didn't really want to know neither.

"I'm depending on you." Pendanski was still saying to Armpit. "It should be no labour to be nice to your neighbour!"

Stanley glanced over to the bed by the tent flap again, but Zero rolled over instead of meeting his gaze, turning onto his side so his back was facing Stanley and the rest of D tent. Stanley could've sworn he saw the smaller dark-skinned boy frown before he'd moved, but he didn't linger on it, instead returning his attention to the bed that had previously belonged to a boy called Barf bag (and judging by the large dark stain in the centre of the mattress, Stanley understood exactly how the boy had gotten his nickname), but now belonged to him, Stanley Yelnats the fourth, who had been sent to this juvenile delinquent camp for a crime he didn't commit.

And all thanks to his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!

If there was any time that Stanley decided to start believing in the family curse, this was definitely it.

* * *

"Hey, Stanley, c'mere boy!" Zigzag gestured him over to their table in the Mess Hall, budging up along the table to make way for Stanley as he sat down with his tray in between Zigzag and Magnet. "This is where you sit."

The boys of D tent looked at him in a way that made Stanley feel uneasy, hating the way they seemed to be sizing him up. He tried to keep his eyes on his tray, but caught sight of Zero glancing up at him for a split second before the silent boy returned to his food, twisting his fork into a pile of what looked to be baked beans.

"Hey, yo. New kid. Hey, yo!" Stanley lifted his head up again in surprise. X-ray was staring at him steadily, with the beginning of a smirk playing at his lips. "You didn't dig today, so, uh, you wouldn't mind giving up your bread to somebody who did, now, would ya?"

Without waiting for an answer, X-ray leaned across and swiped Stanley's bread, dropping it onto his own tray smugly.

"No, you can have it." Stanley murmured quietly, even though he didn't need to, since it was already too late and the two slices of bread that had been balanced on the side of his tray were now being used to mop up the dregs of X-ray's food. Obviously there was no point protesting about it. X-ray was without a doubt the leader of the group, and there was no way on earth that Stanley was going to get himself in up to his neck with his new roommates on his first day of meeting them. They were all more than capable of making his life a living hell, and that was one thing Stanley desperately wanted to avoid. So he just kept his eyes down and his mouth shut.

"So what they get you for?" The tall dark-haired boy called Squid asked. Stanley blinked quickly, almost like a nervous twitch in a way. He couldn't keep his mouth shut now, not when they were asking him questions about how he got sent to Camp Green Lake.

"Stealing a pair of shoes." He didn't even bother to tell them the truth. They wouldn't believe him anyway, so what's the point?

"From the store? Or were they still on someone's feet?" Squid said, laughing along with the rest of them. Of course they'd laugh at something like that. After all, they'd probably been sent here for something worse than just stealing shoes.

"Oh no, he just killed the dude first, you just left out that little detail, right?" Zigzag grinned from beside him.

"They were Clyde Livingston's shoes." Oh well, he might as well tell them that point at least. Even though he hadn't done it, it did sound a bit more spectacular when he mentioned that the shoes he supposedly stole belonged to someone as famous as Clyde Livingston.

Zero looked up at him sharply, his brow furrowing into a half-confused, half-astonished frown as the others started voicing their disbelief aloud.

"Sweet Feet?"

"What? Man you did not steal no Clyde Livingston Sweet Feet shoes!"

"They were his world series cleats." Stanley said, feeling a little bit braver now as he heard the tiniest amount of admiration in their voices. Sure, it was practically microscopic, but it was still there.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. How did you get 'em? He's like the fastest guy in the majors, right?"

"Only guy that could hit four triples in one game."

"Clyde Livingston donated his shoes to this, uh, to this homeless shelter." Stanley explained, flicking his gaze nervously from one boy to the next. He'd intended to say more, but before he could, Zero lifted his head.

"Did they have red X's on 'em?" The smallest D tent boy asked. Suddenly the entire table fell completely silent as everyone turned their head to stare down at Zero in shock and disbelief, the only sound being the clattering of someone's fork as it fell back down onto their tray. If Zero was uncomfortable with them all looking at him, he didn't show it, instead continuing to keep his gaze fixed on Stanley's.

He had really hypnotic eyes, Stanley noticed. A deep rich chocolate brown colour, so dark they were almost black. He'd never seen eyes like them.

"You got Zero to talk!" Squid exclaimed, his brow furrowing as he frowned incredulously from Zero to Stanley and then back to Zero again.

"Hey, yo, what else can you do, Zero?" Armpit called. Zero jiggled the fork that he was holding in mid-air as he glanced briefly over towards Armpit, then returned his eyes to Stanley's again, waiting for an answer. It was almost unnerving in a way, how those hard dark eyes bored into his, barely blinking. It wasn't intimidating, just... questioning, he supposed. Like he wanted confirmation of something.

"Yeah. Yeah they did." Stanley replied. Zero blinked once, then dropped his head again, returning to his trayful of food. Normal conversation started back up between the D tent boys, but Stanley didn't join in, staring at the top of Zero's springy black curls, almost willing the boy to lift his chin again so Stanley could give him a small smile. But Zero didn't look up again after that and Stanley gave up, shovelling a forkful of mushy food into his mouth in disappointment.

* * *

At the crack of dawn, Stanley found himself walking across the dried up lakebed with all the other boys dressed in orange jumpsuits, clutching a heavy shovel in one hand and his empty plastic canteen in the other, already squinting under his hat from the intensity of the rising sun. Zero wasn't part of the crowd. He was at least a couple of metres in front, walking alone with his spade slung over both shoulders, his arms hung casually over the wooden shaft.

Stanley didn't understand him. At first he'd thought the boy was a mute or something, but now he knew that Zero _could_ talk, he just chose not to. And Stanley didn't blame him really, considering how everyone else seemed to think that Zero was stupid. Hell, even Pendanski thought he was stupid! If everyone treated Stanley like that, he would've kept his mouth shut too, just out of hope that they'd get fed up and stop bullying him. Maybe that's why Zero never said a word.

Did Zero have a friend at all in Camp Green Lake? Nobody seemed to care about him.

"This isn't a Girl Scout Camp, nobody's gonna baby-sit ya." Mr Sir said to Stanley when they'd arrived at the place they were supposed to dig their holes. He drew a line on the dusty ground with the pointed toe of his boot and pointed down to it. "Dig here. Now if you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Pendanski. If the Warden likes what you find, you get the rest of the day off."

"What am I supposed to be looking for, Mr Sir?" Stanley asked, squinting up at Mr Sir curiously. The taller man leaned towards him, his eyes narrowing beneath the rim of his cowboy hat, his mouth working as he chewed on a handful of sunflower seeds. Stanley had to resist the urge to take a hasty step back away from him in apprehension.

"You're not looking for anything, you're building character. You take a bad boy, make him dig holes all day in the hot sun, and it turns him into a good boy. That's our philosophy here at Camp Green Lake." Mr Sir stated, turning his head slightly to the side to spit a sunflower seed shell onto the ground. "Start digging."

Mr Sir brushed past him and Stanley tried to balance the tip of his shovel against the hot dry earth before jumping on it to break through the crust, only to fall flat on his back on the dusty ground with a dull thump. Mr Sir had been watching him, and he shook his head slightly as Stanley scrambled back to his feet.

"One down, ten million to go." He said, turning away and heading back for his truck, leaving the D tent boys alone to their 'character building'.

Stanley brushed himself off briefly, his cheeks flushed a little with embarrassment as he wrapped his hands around the wooden shaft again and looked around him, his eyes immediately falling on Zero, who was dumping dirt from his shovel into a rapidly growing pile beside his rapidly deepening hole.

Swallowing back a nasty feeling of dread, Stanley tightened his grip on his shovel and jammed it into a crack in the earth beneath him, digging up his very first shovelful of dirt.

* * *

Stanley was seriously struggling, that much was obvious. His hole was nowhere near as deep as anyone else's, and they'd been out there for at least a good couple of hours. His hands were killing him, most of his palms covered in large painful blisters that made it hurt like hell whenever he held his shovel, but he forced himself to keep on digging.

The first hole's the hardest, right?

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zero watching him as he dug, the smaller dark-skinned boy pausing for a couple of seconds before he slammed his shovel back into the dirt again. The ends of his corkscrew black curls now looked murky brown where they were visible from beneath his dusty blue hat, thanks to all the sand and dirt that clung to his skin and orange overalls. His skin was slick with sweat, but he didn't slow his pace the slightest, digging away like a little machine. Stanley wished he had Zero's determination.

A cloud of dirt scattered across Stanley's back, but he tried to ignore it. The three boys around him were digging their holes quite close to his, and whenever they dumped their dirt into a pile, they all seemed to be throwing their dirt into the pile that was overflowing into Stanley's hole. At first he thought it'd been just accidental, but after the fifteenth time that a shovelful of dirt cascaded into this hole and pounded against his back, he knew they were doing it very much on purpose.

"'Scuse me, can you do that in another pile or something, because it keeps getting in my hole." Stanley asked, his voice hoarse from how dry his throat and mouth was. It was like trying to talk through a mouthful of sandpaper.

"Shut up, man!"

"Shut up!"

"Watch where you're moving your dirt at."

"Yeah, watch where you're throwing your dirt, _Stanley_."

They laughed at him unkindly, continuing to toss their dirt in his direction. Stanley repressed a sigh and looked out onto the horizon, losing himself to his thoughts, absently picking at the skin around the largest blister in the centre of his right hand.

Zero looked over at him once more with eyes narrowed against the punishing glare of the sun above their heads, then dumped another shovelful of dirt onto the pile beside him.

* * *

Several hours later, Zero pulled himself out of his hole with remarkable agility for someone so small and measured the depth of it with his shovel before he spat in it, picked up his plastic canteen and made his way between the other boys and their unfinished holes.

Stanley looked up at him as the dark-skinned boy walked past his hole.

"You done already?" He called, a little in awe at the boy's speedy digging skills. Zero didn't reply; he didn't even glance Stanley's way as he just kept on straight past him.

"Don't you know, man? He's like the fastest digger in the camp." Magnet said, pausing in his own digging to watch Zero leave with his shovel slung over both shoulders again, twisting it around and around against the back of his neck.

"He's a mole, I think he eats the dirt." Squid joined in, his face scrunched up against the harsh sunlight blazing down from high in the sky, directly over them.

"Yeah, he's a weird dude." Zigzag added as he wiped a line of sweat and grime from his forehead with the back of his thick protective gloves. Stanley leaned against the side of his hole thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on Zero's departing back as the boy started back towards the camp.

"Moles don't eat dirt. Worms eat dirt." X-Ray pointed out, but Stanley wasn't listening to them anymore. Zero's departing figure gradually got smaller and smaller, and it was only when the boy had practically disappeared into nothing more than an orange speck in the distance that Stanley finally tore his gaze away, a strange feeling clenching his stomach in a tight steely grip. He could've blamed it on the fact that he was hungry or that he was still feeling pretty intimidated in this group of juvenile offenders, but he knew that neither of those excuses were the real reason.

It was because of Zero.

* * *

Adrenaline was still rushing through Stanley's body from running as fast as he could back to D tent after his narrow escape from that yellow spotted lizard. Thank God Mr Sir had shot it just as it leapt through the air towards him, because if he hadn't, Stanley would've had a chunk bitten out of his leg and then died a slow painful death right there in front of the shower stalls.

A shirtless Zigzag leaned in close to Stanley, right up in his face, Magnet not too far behind him.

"What colour was it's blood?" He asked, his shocking blue eyes wide with excitement. Stanley flicked his gaze up to meet his, blinking rapidly. His hands were still shaking pretty badly, but he was beginning to calm back down now a little. That'd been a really close call back there… He could barely even think about it without shuddering. His life had literally flashed before his eyes, and he'd realised just how unbelievably boring and luckless his life really was.

"I don't… I don't know, I couldn't tell." Stanley mumbled, his voice quiet.

"I wish I'd have seen it. BAM!" Zigzag shouted that last word and Stanley jumped about a mile from the shock of it. Armpit laughed, hissing a little through his teeth as Stanley turned away from them and walked away to his bed, trying to slow his rapid heart rate back down to its normal pace.

"If Mr Sir didn't shoot it, Stanley, you'd be in a hole." Magnet grinned from behind Zigzag, who was still staring at Stanley through those unblinking crazy eyes of his.

"Did you know that each one's got exactly eleven spots?" Zigzag said.

"Yeah, man." Squid joined in, tossing a couple of stones he'd made into crude dice down onto the sheets between where he and Armpit were lounging on his bed. "If you ever get close enough to count 'em…"

He made a slashing motion across his throat.

"You're dead."

Stanley sat down on the edge of his bed, wringing his hands together nervously in his lap. He glanced over towards Zero and was surprised to find the boy was already looking straight back at him, lying on his side with his head propped up on one arm. The smaller boy shook his head slightly from side to side, a small frown creasing his now dirt-free features.

"Look, it's the lizards we working for, man. We build their houses for 'em." Armpit was saying, but Stanley wasn't really paying much attention to him. Zero held his gaze for a second longer before he averted his eyes, looking back down at his own bedsheets. That feeling from earlier out on the lakebed squelched Stanley's stomach again, but he forced it down and turned his head back towards Armpit and the others, leaving Zero to his own solitude.

"I mean yesterday, I saw like ten of 'em in one hole."

"We ain't digging for no lizards." X-ray cut in. Armpit frowned and looked back over his shoulder at him.

"What we digging for then, man?"

"Like Mr Sir said, we digging to build some character." X-ray smiled, his voice slightly mocking. The D tent boys laughed amongst themselves, all except Stanley and Zero. Suddenly, there was a vicious gunshot from outside and everyone stiffened, straightening abruptly from their slouched positions as they stared in the direction of the noise. Mr Sir was still out there, shooting more of those yellow spotted lizards.

Stanley shuddered again.

He didn't really expect to get much sleep tonight.

The last thing he saw as he climbed into his bed and pulled the thin covers up around his throat were a pair of dark eyes staring at him from the bed beside the tent flap, and when Squid turned out the lights, Stanley could still feel those hypnotic unreadable deep rich chocolate brown eyes on him, even through the darkness.

* * *

_Love, your son, Stanley._

Stanley had just finished writing his name at the end of his letter to his mother in the Wreck Room when suddenly the sheet of paper disappeared from his hands, snatched easily away by Squid as the taller boy walked past his table.

"Who you writing to?" Squid jeered as he quickly read through the letter and Stanley surged to his feet after him. "Aww, you miss you're mommy and daddy?"

Squid lightly slapped Stanley on the shoulder and then on his cheek before he put his arm out stiffly against Stanley's chest, stopping him in his tracks as he lunged for his letter.

Behind them, there were several boys gathered around the battered pool table, playing against each other for shower tokens. Zero was stood there with the group, but as soon as he saw Squid swipe Stanley's letter, he pushed past the boy beside him and walked briskly into the centre of the room, holding his pool cue threateningly in both hands, his eyes narrowed as he watched the exchange between the two dark-haired boys.

"I don't want them to worry." Stanley said desperately, trying again to snatch the paper back out of Squid's hands, but Squid pushed him roughly away.

"They don't care." He replied nastily.

"Will you give me the letter –" Stanley started to say, but Squid grabbed a fistful of the front of his orange overalls and glared at him fiercely.

"Believe me, they're glad to be rid of you." Squid spat as he crumpled up the letter in his hand and threw it into the metal bin beside them before he let go of Stanley and walked away. Stanley sighed heavily and bent down, reaching into the bin and pulling his balled-up letter back out. He straightened it out as best he could and moved over to the small wooden post box mounted on the wall, rubbing the paper against the edge of the box to get rid of the rest of the creases.

A few metres behind him, Zero kept on staring at Stanley with his usual unreadable expression on his face. He let go of one end of the pool cue as soon as Squid had disappeared completely from sight and he leaned against it instead, resting both hands on the tip, observing Stanley steadily as he pressed his letter to his lips, kissing it before he dropped it into the wooden box.

Stanley glanced backwards over his shoulder, almost as though he could sense Zero's eyes on him. Dark brown met hazel for what felt like hours, but had really been only a couple of seconds. A single blink from Zero broke the spell and the smaller boy turned away, heading back over to the pool table.

Stanley watched him as he leaned over the table and took a shot, sending the brightly coloured balls scattering in all directions across the green felt.

That feeling in his stomach came back again in full force, but Stanley still had no idea what exactly it was.

Or rather, what exactly it _meant_.

* * *

**Like it so far? I hope so ^^**

**Any more chapters will probably be about the same length as this, and as you can tell, I'm just focusing on the bits in the film where Zero and Stanley are in the scenes together for now. Will that change? Who knows haha XD**

**Anyways, review for me? It would make me a very happy bunny :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heya again everyone, this has got to be the quickest update I've done in a while ^^;**

**Oh, before I start, I'd like to say a massive thank you to DaniMag-san, BrokenShards252, Alli Capri, Dark Seductress 14, Hippielover459, poxmaker, LeMoNsOuR, HIDANLOVESKAKUZUNOTYOU and halfwayhopeful for your reviews and/or story faves and alerts, I really appreciate it! THANK YOU!!! :D**

**Oh, again, I'm going to address a couple of reviews here too. I know poxmaker and LeMoNsOuR gave their advice on less movie and more original, and that was going to be my intention from the beginning, but I wanted to get the first bit of the film in properly first before I added my more lengthy original bits in, y'know, establishing the friendship first and all that ^^, just want to let you know that this chapter is going to be like the first one in the fact that it is very true to the movie, but the lengthy original bits will start in chapter three, and this is a fact because I've already started writing it hehe. :D So bear with me for one more movie-based chapter, ok? Thank you very much :D**

**Read on and review for me, ok? :D**

* * *

Chapter 2:

Stanley trudged into the Wreck Room, dragging his feet a little as he purposely avoided eye contact with anyone, only looking up briefly to dodge a couple of boys who were shoving at each other roughly, a few minutes away from a full-out fist fight. God, he was so tired. Every muscle in his body was aching, but if he was completely honest, he didn't hurt anywhere near as much as he had done when he'd dug that very first hole. He was slowly getting better at it now, but he was still miles behind the rest of them when it came to speed, since he was always the last one back to camp.

At least he'd found something today, though. That was something to be proud of, he supposed, even though that fossil hadn't really been worth anything to anyone, especially not to the Warden. But then, of course, that'd just dropped him in it with X-ray, and Stanley found himself basically intimidated into giving anything 'interesting' he dug up to the other boy. Back out on the lakebed, Stanley had felt a bit pissed off with himself for being so easily scared by X-ray and the other D tent boys, but right now, he didn't care. He was just too tired.

"What're you doing? No, I'm watching that!" Zigzag growled from where he sat in front of a busted old TV set, staring at the fuzzy screen as Armpit leant over the top of it and grabbed for the controls.

"Not today you ain't." Armpit grunted, accidentally pulling a knob from the set.

"Look, you broke it!" Zigzag hissed, ripping the broken knob out of Armpit's hand and slamming it down on top of the now completely broken TV. Stanley rubbed a hand over his eyes and stifled a yawn, looking away from them as they both started messing with the aerial and he made his way around a few boys who were playing table football.

There was a huge scary-looking boy sat in an armchair just in front of him, his eyes closed and one foot carelessly propped up on a stool. One of the table football players jerked a handle violently and stepped forcefully backwards, colliding with Stanley and sending him crashing down onto the thug in the armchair.

"Watch it!" The boy spat, shoving Stanley off him.

"You watch it, man." Stanley replied tiredly as he turned to walk away, his brain not even computing what his mouth was saying before it was too late.

"What you say to me?!" A foot impacted solidly against Stanley's backside and he was sent sprawling across the dusty floor. Suddenly the entire Wreck Room seemed to fall deathly silent as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch, and even Zigzag tore his gaze away from the useless flickering screen of the damaged TV to stare back at the scene over his shoulder with his wide blue eyes.

Zero looked up sharply from the pool table, his mouth taut and his eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, man, I didn't mean… I didn't mean to hit you…" Stanley stammered. He tried to scramble to his feet, using another stool nearby that had a radio perched precariously on top of it. Unfortunately for him, his hand slipped against the smooth wood and knocked the radio to the floor as Stanley tripped into the boy, crashing them both back into the armchair again. He didn't even have chance to realise just how deep shit he was in as he was grabbed by the front of his orange overalls and shoved back again, the thug's grip impossibly strong.

"You're a dead man!" The boy snarled. There wasn't a doubt in Stanley's mind that he was about to put his fist straight through Stanley's face, but thank God for him that D tent had his back. Zigzag and Squid were the first ones that appeared by his side, pulling Stanley back and blocking him from his furious attacker, swiftly joined by X-ray, Magnet and Armpit, who had run over from where they'd been stood by the pool table or the TV.

Zero seized hold of one of the billiard balls on the green felt in front of him, gripping it tightly in his hand as he glared venomously at Stanley's assailant.

"Hold on, hey, hey!" X-ray shouted. There was a crowd surrounding them now, practically every boy in the Wreck Room ready and waiting for any full-scale riot that might be about to break loose.

X-ray glanced back towards Stanley.

"Just chill, Caveman, a'ight?" He said, switching his gaze back to the other guy. "You start a fight now and the Warden'll come down hard on us. Just relax."

"Take it easy, man." Armpit added. Zero was still stood by the pool table, his glare deepening even further as his knuckles turned pearly white from his grip on the ball.

"Keep that punk away from me." Stanley's attacker spat angrily, snarling at however much of Stanley he could see in between the crowd of orange jumpsuits blocking the way.

"It's a'ight, guy. It's all good." Armpit said as the group of boys started to break up, going back to whatever they'd been doing previously. The thug dropped himself back down into his armchair as Armpit bent down and picked up the radio, putting it back on the stool again.

"Here's your tunes, man."

All of D tent made their way back to the pool table, Squid leading Stanley with an arm around his shoulders.

"Don't look at him, he's crazy, ok. You understand me?" Squid muttered to him. Stanley wisely kept quiet, nodding slightly to show that he did understand him. He'd be glad if he never saw that guy, or 'Caveman' as they called him, ever again as long as he stayed in Camp Green Lake. Who knows, maybe next time there won't be D tent around to back him up like they just had, and if that happened, well… It wasn't really difficult to imagine what state he'd be in after a few punches from a guy like _that_.

Stanley's eyes flickered up from the floor as they neared the pool table, and just happened to land straight on Zero. The dark-skinned boy wasn't staring back at him for a change; instead his eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the Caveman guy in a glare so vicious that Stanley didn't even think Zero had the facial muscles to pull it off. His hand suddenly flexed as he tore his gaze away, a bright green ball rolling out across the felt from his outstretched fingers. Stanley didn't have time to think about what that could've meant because Squid's hand left the back of his neck and Stanley found himself in the middle of the D tent boys as they gathered around one end of the pool table.

"Hey, nobody messes with the Caveman. Nobody." Magnet announced, shaking his head slowly as he leaned forwards onto the pool table.

"Did you see the Caveman back there?" X-ray joined in.

"Nobody." Squid agreed as he too shook his head, his lips curving upwards into a small smirk. Stanley glanced quickly from one to another, swallowing nervously.

"No, no, no, I don't wanna mess with anybody!" Stanley stammered hastily. The boys just looked at him for a moment before a loud whistle sounded, the signal that it was time for them all to go dig some more holes. D tent straightened up from the table, making their way along with the rest of the orange-clad juvenile offenders.

Stanley didn't think he'd ever been so surprised in his life when the guys lightly slapped him on the arm or the back as they left.

"Hey, you coming, Caveman?"

"Yeah, Caveman."

"C'mon, Caveman." X-ray was the last one to slap him across the chest as he skirted round him. Stanley stared after them, his mouth open slightly, dumbstruck by what'd just happened.

"What?" Stanley gaped in astonishment.

"C'mon, dog." X-ray said, gesturing back at Stanley for him to follow.

Stanley took a couple of steps around the pool table, still blinking dumbly. A familiar mop of springy black curls appeared in the corner of his vision and Stanley glanced down at Zero questioningly.

"I'm… So I'm Caveman?" He asked. Zero dug his hands deep in the pockets of his orange overalls and shrugged one shoulder, walking beside Stanley as they joined the crowd leaving the Wreck Room.

"Better than Barf Bag." Zero pointed out. Stanley felt a wide grin spread across his face and he didn't even bother to hold it back as they started on their way back out towards the lakebed.

* * *

Stanley had just drained the last drops of liquid in his canteen when Mr Sir drove up in his water truck, leaving a large stream of dust in his wake as he pulled up beside them. As if on cue, every D tent boy dragged themselves up out of their holes and made their way over, starting to line up for their canteens to be refilled as Mr Sir got out of his truck and slammed the door shut behind him.

"C'mon little fishies," Mr Sir said through a mouthful of sunflower seeds. "Get your lake water."

He strode round to the back of his truck, his hands on his hips and his eyes narrowed against the glare of the harsh sunlight.

"Get it?" He grinned. "Lake water. It's a joke."

The boys said nothing as they started to form a queue in the usual order of X-ray at the front, followed by Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, Magnet, Zero, and then finally Stanley bringing up the rear. Only this time it wasn't the same at all. X-ray walked past Stanley and Zero to take his place at the start of the line, but as he did so, he reached out and grabbed Zero by the arm, dragging him roughly back a space so the smaller boy ended up standing behind Stanley rather then in front of him. Zero pushed X-ray's arm away from him as he staggered a little before he regained his balance, staring at the taller dark-skinned boy with an almost incredulous frown.

"You go ahead now, Caveman, a'ight." X-ray said to Stanley, gesturing with his hand for him to move forwards, then continued on to his own rightful place in the queue. Stanley glanced back at Zero and found that the boy was already looking up at him, his brow furrowed in a slight hurt expression. A horrible guilty feeling clenched Stanley's heart in his chest, but however much he didn't want to move, he forced himself to reluctantly take his new position.

Then he looked back over his shoulder once more, watching as Zero tugged at the string that held his canteen around his chest and stepped up behind Stanley. Those dark hypnotic eyes flicked up again and met hazel for a few seconds before he turned his head away, chewing his bottom lip as he stared downwards at the dirt beneath his feet. Stanley didn't look away, though. He just couldn't bring himself to avert his gaze from Zero, no matter how hard he tried.

"Can I start now, your Highness?" He heard Mr Sir say sardonically to X-ray.

"Yes, Mr Sir." X-ray replied, handing over his canteen to be filled. Stanley didn't really care about the water now, despite how thirsty he was. He knew that he'd only been bumped up the line because he was X-ray's ticket to a day off if Stanley ever found anything again out on the lakebed, and that was also probably the reason why he had his own nickname now, and why he'd been backed up by D tent back in the Wreck Room earlier.

He stared at Zero, his eyes roaming over the dirt-covered, sweat-slicked caramel brown skin of his face, the springy corkscrew curls half-hidden beneath his dusty blue hat, the long dark eyelashes that framed those unfathomable rich chocolate eyes…

Even though he hadn't done anything directly towards Zero, right now he couldn't help but feel lower than the very dirt he was digging.

* * *

"What about you, Jose? What d'you like?" Dr Pendanski asked Magnet. It was the end of the day and pretty dark outside now, and after they'd finished digging their holes, all of D tent had returned to camp for a meeting with their councillor in the otherwise abandoned Mess Hall. Stanley thought it was a more careless version of a group therapy session, with all the boys lounged around on chairs and tables in a rough circle in the middle of the room, too tired to really give a damn about anything Pendanski said to them. Not that they'd give a damn anyway, of course.

"I like animals." Magnet said.

"That's what got Magnet sent here in the first place." X-ray smirked knowingly from where he sat beside Pendanski as the other boys laughed along with him.

"Man, its criminal the way they keep 'em locked up in cages." Magnet protested, frowning a little at the thought as he looked around the group. Pendanski pointed a finger at him purposefully.

"No, Jose, what _you_ did was criminal."

"Ah, no, tell 'em, Magnet. They wanted a thousand bucks for just one puppy." Squid scowled as he leaned forwards and twirled his trademark toothpick around in his mouth.

"What?" X-ray replied incredulously, his brow furrowing as he lifted his head to squint at Magnet through his dust-smeared thick glasses.

"Yeah! I woulda made it out… If my pocket didn't start barking." Magnet said, causing the D tent boys to start laughing again as he let out his own strange sneering laugh through his teeth and bumped fists with Armpit who was sat beside him.

Even Zero had to bite back the small upward quirk to his lips, which was the closest thing Stanley had ever seen to a smile from the smallest boy of D tent. It was a kinda nice change, to be honest, seeing Zero look even the tiniest bit happier than his usual silent unreadable self.

"You boys get one life." Pendanski spoke over their laughter, his face deadly serious as D tent stopped smiling. "So far, you've done a pretty good job screwing it up."

His eyes flickered around the circle from one boy to the next, his gaze coming to rest on Stanley, whose smile had been one of the last to disappear.

"So, you're Caveman now?" Pendanski called. Stanley looked over at him. "Big shot. You got a nickname. Well, let me tell ya something, _Caveman_. You are here on account of one person. D'you know who that person is?"

Stanley nodded once. Yeah, he knew damn well _exactly_ who that person was!

"Yeah." He started, glancing briefly around the circle before answering. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Zero's gaze swiftly turn in his direction, but he thought nothing of it, since he was already so used to being stared at by that kid. "My no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather, that's who it is!"

The echoing laughter in the Mess Hall started up again from the boys, everyone but Zero and Pendanski joining in again. Did Zero actually know how to laugh? Stanley was seriously starting to doubt that. Maybe the most he'd get out of the springy-haired boy was no more than that tiny twitch of his mouth from before.

Zero's eyes were still fixed on Stanley as he sat in his chair with his arms folded loosely across his skinny chest, but when Pendanski started talking again, Zero returned his attention back to the councillor.

"No, _you_ screwed your life up, Stanley Yelnats." Pendanski pointed at Stanley with a slight scowl on his face. "And it's up to you to fix it. It's not going to be easy, but you'd be surprised what you can accomplish once you set your mind to it."

He tapped the finger he'd been pointing at Stanley against the side of his head. And then suddenly, like a lion pouncing on its prey, Pendanski's line of sight fell straight on little Zero, and in that instant, Stanley knew that the shit was about to hit the fan.

"Even Zero here isn't completely worthless." Pendanski remarked snidely. Zero wasn't looking at him any more, instead keeping his gaze fixed almost unblinkingly on the floor, his fingers twitching slightly against the orange cuffs of his overalls. "What about you, Zero? What d'you like to do?"

Zero didn't answer, as usual. He didn't even glance up.

"You just won't talk with me, will you?" Pendanski said, and Stanley didn't miss the thinly veiled sardonic tone to his voice. God, he really hated Zero, didn't he? The only thing Stanley couldn't understand was _why_ Dr Pendanski had it in for him. He wasn't exactly a trouble-causing arrogant slimeball like some of the other guys Stanley had seen around Camp Green Lake, so why did Pendanski treat him so nastily? It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. Stanley didn't like it at all.

"Man, he only talks to Caveman, y'know." Armpit told the councillor with a smile as he lounged back carelessly against one of the tables. Pendanski leaned forwards in his seat, his eyes narrowed and a mocking smirk on his face directed towards the small boy sat directly opposite him. Stanley was struck with a weird protective urge to tell Pendanski to back off and cut Zero some slack for a change, but he fought it down, not wanting to cause a problem.

"You think you're better than all this?" Pendanski asked Zero with that cruel derisive smirk still in place. That seemed to do the trick though, since Zero raised his head back up slowly to stare right back at Dr Pendanski, his mouth pressed into a tight line and his dark eyes glinting with the tiniest hint of defiance.

Then he flicked his gaze to Stanley, as though he was asking for permission to answer or something. Stanley tilted his head towards the councillor, giving Zero the go-ahead, even though he had no idea why the boy thought he needed the say-so from him first. He wasn't his master or anything, so what was the point in that?

Zero looked back at Pendanski.

"I like digging holes." Zero spoke after a few more seconds of tense silence, his voice quiet but strong. Pendanski's responding grin was anything but friendly.

"Then you're in the right place for it. Buddy boy."

There was no mistaking the malice in his voice that time, and Stanley's gaze shot straight over towards the councillor, yet again having resist that stupid urge to protect Zero from the man. He felt a rush of dislike surge through his stomach that was then followed by an even bigger surge of unease and guilt when he glanced back at Zero and saw the look on his face that was a lot less unreadable than usual, with a slight frown and lips drawn so tight that they were practically bloodless. One dark hand that was visible from the sleeve closest to Stanley was clenched into a trembling fist. It wasn't trembling with fear though, that much he was certain. Zero was trembling with anger.

And Stanley wished desperately that he'd use that anger, that he'd stand up and verbally lash into Pendanski with all that fury he was keeping locked up inside, putting the irritating councillor in his place once and for all…

But, of course, he didn't.

Zero's fist slowly unfurled again, and that unreadable mask of his was back in place, his dark chocolate eyes fixed steadily on the dusty floor.

With a small sigh, Stanley let himself slide down a little deeper in his chair, bitterly swallowing his disappointment and frustration. There was no chance that Zero was going to defend himself against Pendanski any time soon, and it wasn't likely that anyone else was going to defend him neither. Poor Zero had absolutely no one. It was like he didn't even exist, just a small silent boy who nobody would miss if he just disappeared entirely. In fact, nobody would even notice!

Jesus, there was that feeling again! That stupid irritating pointless clenching of his stomach whenever he thought about Zero, what the hell was it?! What the hell did it mean?! He'd never felt like this before in his entire life, even though he still wasn't entirely sure what 'this' was.

All he knew was that it was caused only by Zero.

But was that a good thing or a bad thing?

* * *

The next day, Stanley discovered that his mom had finally sent him back a reply to his first letter and instead of going down to the Mess Hall with the others for dinner, he'd made his way back to D tent alone to read his letter in peace. No chance was he going to take it anywhere near Squid again, not after what happened last time. From now on, his mail was totally private, for his eyes only.

So now he was sat on the edge of his bed, hunched over his letter with his back facing the tent flap, reading his mom's barely legible swirly handwriting. Their landlord is threatening to evict them from their apartment, she said. And Stanley wasn't really surprised, to be honest. There was only so much foot odour that guy could take.

Suddenly the tent flap was pulled back and Zero walked inside, turning his head to look curiously over at Stanley as he kept on towards his own bed and laid himself down on it, crossing his legs and folding his arms loosely across his stomach. Stanley glanced over at the younger boy for a moment before he returned his attention to his letter, trying to ignore the feel of Zero's eyes still blazing into the back of his head from the other side of the tent. Seems he wasn't the only one wanting some privacy around here, if Zero had left the Mess Hall for D tent in hope that he could spend some time on his own away from the others. Either that or he'd noticed that Stanley was missing, and D tent was the first place he'd thought to look for him. Why? Who knows. Maybe it was because that Stanley was by far the closest thing Zero had to a friend.

_I feel so sorry for the old lady who lived in the shoe,_ _because it must've smelt real bad._

Stanley laughed to himself when he read that line, shamelessly imagining his mom's voice repeating it in his head. Zero slowly uncrossed his legs and moved to sit on the edge of his bed, peering over at Stanley like a little springy-haired meerkat. Soon enough, his curiosity got the better of him and he got to his feet, walking over to Stanley's bed and leaning against the wooden post beside it that propped the tent up.

"What're you laughing at?" Zero asked, staring inquisitively down at the letter as his brow furrowed into the beginning of a tiny frown. Stanley looked up at him again briefly before he turned his hazel eyes back to the paper he held in his hands.

"Oh, just something my mom wrote. She, uh," Stanley cleared his throat. "She said: 'I feel sorry for the little old lady who lived in the shoe, because it must've smelt really bad.'"

Stanley laughed again, then returned his gaze hopefully back up at Zero. Zero didn't laugh. His facial features barely moved at all, apart from his frown growing slightly deeper in what Stanley thought was confusion. Zero kept those dark eyes of his fixed on Stanley's letter for a few heavy seconds before his gaze flicked up to meet Stanley's again.

"Y'know, like the nursery rhyme?" Stanley prompted. No response. Nothing but that confused frown still being aimed in his direction. Stanley felt his smile slip off his face, and to avoid any further awkwardness, he quickly returned his attention to his letter once more.

Zero tilted his head to the side, the sunlight hitting the top of his wild head of corkscrew black curls through a gap in the roof of the tent as he stared over Stanley's shoulder, his rich chocolate eyes never leaving that piece of paper in his hands.

Stanley's fingers fidgeted uncomfortably over his letter. Ok, this was a bit too much of a privacy invasion going on here.

"I… I feel really awkward with you reading over my shoulder like that." Stanley said, twisting around to meet Zero full on in the face. Zero finally tore his gaze from Stanley's letter to instead stare straight back and shake his head slightly from one side to the other.

"I can't read." Zero told him.

Silence fell between them for a moment as Stanley turned his head away again and as he expected, Zero didn't look away, keeping his gaze fixed steadily on the part of Stanley's face he could still see from his angle. The smaller boy bit his lower lip nervously.

"Can you teach me?"

Stanley hesitated at Zero's request, licking his dry lips and rubbing one hand over his eyes tiredly. It was bad enough that he had to dig holes everyday out on that dried up lakebed, but now Zero wanted him to be his teacher too? Stanley wasn't Superman or anything, so how the hell did Zero expect him to manage teaching him on top of everything else? He was already tired and aching as it was. And he didn't really want to spend his free time educating Zero.

"Um… I, I'm not really a… a good teacher, and, uh, I get tired. From digging all day, so… I just wanna come back and chill, y'know?" Stanley replied after a moment as he folded up his letter and leant over to put it safely away from other prying eyes. Zero kept watching him, his eyes following his every movement.

Stanley stood up, taking his hat with him. This time though Zero's gaze didn't travel with him. Instead he stared straight forward, dark eyes focused almost unblinkingly on the place where the taller boy had previously been sat.

Zero scratched his corkscrew curls with one hand and then he raised his chin in a way that seemed to be oddly defiant as Stanley walked around the post, brushing past him.

"See ya in there?" Stanley asked, leaning back to slap Zero in a friendly way on the arm, but Zero didn't react at all, not to the slap or his words. He was upset, Stanley could tell. Even though he didn't show it, Stanley just... he just knew. Instinctively. He didn't know how to explain it.

Stanley's eyes flickered over the side of Zero's face one last time before he turned and left the tent, pulling his dusty red hat on his head and pointedly ignoring the clenching of his stomach as he walked away back towards the Mess Hall.

Zero waited for a couple of seconds until the crunching of Stanley's footsteps against the dry earth had almost completely disappeared and then he let out a small sigh, scraping his fingernails down the rough wooden post as he turned slowly on his heel and moved back over towards his own bed by the tent flap.

He sat down on the edge of his thin mattress, his hands folded loosely between his knees, staring at the tent wall opposite him, only moving again when he heard the whistle blow in the distance for the boys at Camp Green Lake to return to their holes.

* * *

**Sorry, the last bit was pretty rushed, because I really wanted to get this chapter finished and updated and out of the way so I could get on with the third chapter, plus I kinda have like ten minutes to update this beast before my dad comes in and pulls the plug on my internet, damn him ¬¬**

**Anyways, let me know what you thought :D Chapter three will be up soon, I promise!! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Heya everyone! Here we go, chapter 3 for you all! :D**

**Just want to say thanks to the reviewers of chapter 2: DaniMag-san, xXSadistic BarbieXx, poxmaker and lifesong! THANK YOU!**

**And I just want to say an extra thank you to poxmaker, because your review made me smile so much I almost broke my face, and I'm not even kidding :D I'm a very critical person when it comes to my own work and I doubt myself quite a lot, because I'm an idiot haha, but thank you very much for making my day, dude! ^^**

**Oh, and if anyone asks, I'm doing my health and social care coursework right now, since I'm kinda updating this from the college computers... which I'm not really supposed to do ^^; oops hehe ah well :)**

**Read on and review for me please, because now we have ORIGINAL LENGTHY STUFF! About time too haha :D**

* * *

Chapter 3:

As usual, Stanley was the very last boy from D tent to finish his hole and make his way back into camp when the sun had already set across the horizon. Although, admittedly, today could've ended differently for him, but yet again his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and the stupid family curse had already messed that one up. If he'd just kept that golden tube he found instead of giving it X-ray, he would've been the _first_ back into camp for a change! And he would've been rewarded for it too! But no, like a pathetic coward he'd handed it over to X-ray, for no other reason than he was so Goddamn scared of him.

The air was colder now, but Stanley could still feel all the sweat and dirt that clung to him like a second skin. It was disgusting, but he tried not to mind so much. It was all just a case of a quick stop by D tent to pick up his cleaner set of orange overalls, a shower token and a towel before he headed towards the shower stalls in the centre of camp, knowing that in a few short minutes he was going to be clean again.

Stanley came to a halt by the showers and glanced around briefly in the dimly lit darkness to check if anyone was around. When he was satisfied that the coast was clear, he started to undress, gratefully peeling away his dirty jumpsuit until he was left wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers.

He folded up the used overalls and turned to put them over one side of the wooden stall with his towel, but as he did so he caught sight of something move out of the corner of his eye and spun around instantly, half-expecting to be chased back to the tent by yet another yellow spotted lizard or something.

Imagine his surprise when a familiar pair of unreadable dark brown eyes stared straight back, Zero having just stepped out from the shower stall beside him.

And Stanley was even more surprised when he blinked and took a proper good look at the shorter boy, swiftly noticing that Zero was wearing only a pair of black boxers just like him, the only difference being that his caramel-coloured skin was completely drenched with tiny rivulets of water and his usually wild head of corkscrew curls was now soaking wet and hanging loosely around his face. Obviously he'd just finished taking a shower of his own when Stanley had come over, and Stanley had been so far away in his own thoughts that he hadn't realised that he wasn't completely alone out here after all.

"Oh! S-sorry, man. Didn't see you there." Stanley blurted out, his cheeks colouring slightly in embarrassment for both of them. Zero didn't answer, (not that Stanley had really expected him to), instead reaching up to rub his face and hair vigorously with the towel he held before he slung it casually around the back of his neck to rest over his thin shoulders, still staring steadily at Stanley. Stanley wondered if he was still annoyed about the whole not teaching him to read thing, but he couldn't tell just by looking at him. Zero's face was just as unreadable as it usually was.

Feeling uncomfortable and a bit self-conscious, Stanley shifted his weight from foot to foot, crossing his arms over his bare chest and doing everything he possibly could to stop himself from staring at the strangely alluring sharp line of Zero's collar bones. Why he had to do that, he didn't know, but his mouth was unusually dry at the thought.

"D'you mind letting me past?" Stanley asked after a few more moments of awkward silence. Zero stepped aside, giving Stanley enough room to make it around him into the showers. Stanley nodded quickly in thanks and hurried past him, hoping and praying with every fibre of his being that Zero would just turn around and go back to the tent, leaving Stanley to enjoy his two minute long icy cold shower of the day.

"Why did you give it to him?" Zero suddenly spoke from behind him, and Stanley jumped in shock at the unexpected sound of his voice. He looked back over his shoulder at the smaller boy, who hadn't moved an inch. So much for leaving him alone, then.

"What're you talking about?"

"What you found today in your hole." Zero replied, tilting his head a little as he kept his scrutinising gaze fixed directly on his. Was it just Stanley's imagination, or did Zero's eyes seem darker than usual? They were practically black now, blending in perfectly with his pupils. Maybe it was the lack of light, playing tricks on him. "Why'd you give it to X-ray?"

Oh, so that's what this was about. Stanley didn't see why though; it wasn't like anyone cared that he'd just handed that tube over practically the second he'd found it. Hell, not one of them had said a single thing against it. It was expected, y'know? Leader X-ray calling the shots.

Stanley sighed, scratching at his dark brown curls tiredly with one hand.

"We made a deal. Anything I found, I had to give to him. You know how it is, man, you've been here longer than me." He said, staring down at his own fingers as he absently turned his shower token over in his hands instead of meeting Zero's intense gaze. Silence fell between them again, lingering heavily in the air.

With a tiny amount of courage, Stanley forced himself to lift his head and found Zero was still looking at him like he was some kind of complicated puzzle that he just couldn't get his head around. Stanley didn't understand why the smaller boy kept staring at him like that. He wasn't exactly the most complex person in the world, but apparently Zero seemed to think he was.

"You shouldn't have given him it." Zero said, blinking steadily as he tilted his head up to fix his dark eyes on Stanley's hazel ones. Stanley let out a soft wry laugh, turning back around to put his token in the shower slot.

"No," He agreed, "No, I shouldn't have."

That was the last thing they said to each other as Stanley moved beneath the showerhead and turned the knob, starting the freezing cold spray of water. He could still feel Zero's eyes on him, roaming over his bare back for a good few seconds before he heard the rustling of cloth and glanced back at him to see Zero pulling on his own pair of orange overalls. A single droplet of water slid slowly down the curve of Zero's spine as he bent over to drag his overalls up his skinny body, and Stanley was ashamed to admit that he followed it's progress the whole way down his caramel brown skin.

Zero straightened up and buttoned up his jumpsuit, shaking his damp curls loose of his collar. He stole one final glance at Stanley over his shoulder, his dark eyes gleaming in the moonlight that shone down onto his thin face, then he picked up his towel again and set off back towards D tent without another word, leaving Stanley to last minute or so of his shower.

Stanley watched him go, that Goddamn annoying feeling in his gut again that he was finding increasingly difficult to ignore. He sighed again and tilted his head backwards to let the water splash straight onto his face, washing another day's dirt away.

* * *

"Hey, Mom! I think I found something! C'mere for a second, I think I found something!"

It should've been Stanley who'd shouted that to Pendanski this morning, not X-ray. _He'd_ found that golden tube in _his_ hole and now X-ray was nowhere to be seen in the huge group of boys digging up an enormous maze of tunnels in the place where X-ray pretended he'd discovered the tube, with the Warden, Mr Sir and Pendanski watching over them like hawks. No, X-ray was back in camp right now, with double shower tokens and a snack, unlike Stanley who was running back and forth between dirt piles with a wheelbarrow full of earth, his skin slick with sweat and his hair sticking to his damp forehead beneath his hat.

They weren't digging holes to build character. No way, that much was obvious. They were looking for something. Or rather, the Warden was looking for something, and she was making the boys dig in order to find it for her. What exactly it was that they were looking for, Stanley had no idea, but it clearly had something to do with that golden tube with the initials K.B engraved on it.

Stanley tipped over the wheelbarrow, dumping out the dirt for some of the other boys to sift through. Most of the guys around him were people who he'd never met before in his stay here at Camp Green Lake, since they were all from different tents. Nobody spoke to anyone at all, just working away silently under the blazing sun, doing the Warden's dirty work for her. With extra emphasis on 'dirty'.

When the wheelbarrow was once again empty, Stanley started off back to where he'd first come from so that a couple of boys could refill it for what must've been the fortieth time by now, but was definitely not the last.

On his way, dodging between holes and dirt piles, Stanley looked up to see Zero jogging towards him with his shovel in hand, obviously heading to join the diggers Stanley had just left behind. The walkway they were both using was pretty narrow, considering it was only a few metres of space between one deep trench in the ground and another, but they should've been able to pass each other by easily without any problems.

Except that, of course, Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather decided to intervene with that Goddamn curse of his yet again.

The wheel of the rickety wheelbarrow snagged on a small stone and jerked the entire thing directly towards Zero, who stepped quickly to the side to avoid being hit by it as Stanley set it straight again. But, because the path was so narrow, Zero's foot accidentally knocked loose the edge of the dirt and he gave a shocked yelp as he slipped over the side, kicking up a thick plume of dust in his wake as he fell.

The smaller boy would've plummeted straight down into the deep hole below if Stanley hadn't let go of the wheelbarrow without a second thought and seized hold of Zero by the elbow of his nearest flailing arm, yanking him back up onto solid ground. The wheelbarrow kept on going for about a metre before it shuddered and came crashing down onto its side, the clang of metal echoing loudly through the air. But Stanley and Zero didn't hear it.

Stanley still had tight hold of Zero's elbow, and he had also grabbed onto the other arm to steady him on his feet. Zero's own hands had twisted themselves into the orange sleeves of Stanley's overalls, clinging on for dear life as though he was afraid that if he let go, he'd fall back over the edge again. They were both staring at each other with wide eyes and surprised expressions on their dusty faces, breathing harshly as the sudden responding rush of adrenaline slowly left their systems.

And it was right then that Stanley was struck with the abrupt realisation of something he'd never really noticed before.

Zero was… quite a good-looking boy. With his thin pointed face and full soft-looking lips, and of course those amazing dark chocolate eyes of his, well… he was more than just good-looking, to be honest. Stanley might've gone as far as to say that Zero was downright gorgeous, and even though that sounded way too girly in his head, it was the only apt way he could think of to describe Zero's appearance.

Stanley felt sure that he was gawping at Zero right now, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. He didn't even want to let go, for some weird reason. That feeling was back again in his stomach, but it was a little different this time. It felt more like a spread of heat than the uncomfortable clenching it usually was, and Stanley found that he kinda liked it. Whatever 'it' was.

Zero was gripping onto him pretty hard, his fingers digging into the skin through Stanley's overalls, and the slight pinpricks of pain from ten sharp fingernails was enough to bring Stanley swiftly back to earth with a bump.

"Hey, you ok?" Stanley asked as he forced himself to release his hold on Zero, giving the shorter boy time to uncurl his hands from the folds of Stanley's jumpsuit before he stepped back away from him, making sure to put a safe distance between them. Zero nodded quickly in response and glanced over the side of the pathway which he'd almost thrown himself off, his throat working as he swallowed thickly. Stanley's eyes were instantly drawn to the bobbing of Zero's Adams apple. His hands twitched by his sides.

"You gotta be more careful next time, man." Stanley said, clapping Zero on the shoulder as he made his way past the springy-haired boy to retrieve his wheelbarrow. The whole scene must've lasted no more than a couple of seconds, but to Stanley and Zero it'd felt like so much longer. It seemed like they'd been stood up there for days, staring at each other in shock and holding onto each other like both their lives depended on it. In fact, Stanley kinda wished it really had been days. He wouldn't have minded.

Stanley bent down and heaved the wheelbarrow upright again. No damage had been done to the rusty metal, so no worries there. Before Stanley started back on his way to where he'd been heading prior to his and Zero's very near head-on collision, he glanced back over his shoulder at the smallest boy of D tent, who hadn't actually moved yet from that same spot.

But just as Stanley started to worry that maybe Zero had gone into shock or something, the boy reached up and adjusted his dirty hat atop his corkscrew curls, his eyes flicking over to meet Stanley's and then darting quickly away again, turning instead to stare almost nervously at the ground beneath his feet.

Hold on… was Zero's face darker than usual? Either it was just the shade from beneath the peak of his hat, or there was a definite spread of colour across his caramel cheeks. Was he… _blushing?_

Nah, he couldn't be. It was the shade, Stanley decided. It must be.

Zero crouched and picked up the shovel that he'd unintentionally dropped a few seconds ago before his near-death experience, and then he set off across the pathway again, continuing on his original course towards the couple of diggers he'd been going to join. He didn't meet Stanley's gaze as he left, pointedly keeping his eyes lowered and his head bowed slightly to hide his face, and Stanley couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as he stared after the boy's departing back.

God, he was watching Zero walk away from him again, just like at the showers last night. It was starting to become a regular thing for them, their extremely short conversations ending with one walking away and the other following them with their gaze until they were completely out of sight. It was practically habit by now.

Stanley repressed a heavy sigh and turned away, pushing the wheelbarrow back over to where several boys were waiting to refill it with yet more dirt.

He could still feel the places on his arms where Zero had grabbed hold of him, the slight dull ache tingling his skin from the tightness of his grip, but strangely, Stanley didn't find it at all unpleasant.

And that small fact scared him a little. What was going on between him and Zero? He had absolutely no idea. He'd never felt like this before, not with the stomach clenching and then that new warm sensation just now when he stared into Zero's face… It was weird. A totally new concept to him, whatever it was.

Stanley couldn't help but wonder if Zero felt the same way when he saw him.

And he also couldn't help the responding blush of his own that spread across his cheeks at the thought.

* * *

Four long days later, and Stanley had lost all hope in whatever the Warden had them so desperately searching for. It didn't take a genius to figure out that if they hadn't found it by now, then it probably wasn't even down there to begin with. This was all just a waste of time, but nobody dared to tell the irate Warden that. Even Mr Sir and Pendanski kept their distance from the red-haired woman, not wanting to be caught in her line of fire.

Stanley wasn't on wheelbarrow duty anymore. Instead, he and the rest of D tent were in one of the trenches, digging away beneath the scorching sun that was directly above their heads. Stanley was so sick of this. To be honest, he'd rather be back digging his own hole again. At least then he knew when he'd finished he'd be able to go back to camp. Out here, the Warden had every single one of them digging non-stop from dusk until dawn.

Zero drove the tip of his shovel into the earth beside Stanley and then upended another small pile of dirt, tossing it away before he swung his shovel back into the ground again. He was still the fastest digger in the camp by far. Stanley, on the other hand, was still as slow as he'd ever been, but he didn't really care that much now. No point in putting all his effort into this when he wasn't really going to benefit from it. It wasn't like he could finish quicker than anyone else, so why bother?

Might as well save his strength for when they go back to digging their individual holes. Which, hopefully, was going to be sometime soon.

Stanley sighed and leaned on his shovel, his sweaty palm sliding a little down the wooden shaft. Zero paused with his digging for a second and looked over at Stanley questioningly, wiping a streak of grime from his forehead with the back of his hand.

Stanley gave him a small smile to show that he was fine, squinting against the harsh rays of the sun as he looked down at the smaller boy. Zero didn't smile back; he just blinked once and then returned to his digging, forcing his shovel into the ground for about the millionth time.

They were all digging in the wrong place. This wasn't where X-ray had found that tube. Stanley had found it in his hole, the one with the big white rock that looked like a face sat on the dirt pile beside it as a marker.

But he wasn't going to tell anyone that. For one, it'd get X-ray in trouble, and then X-ray would make Stanley's life a living hell for the next God knows how many months, and for two, the Warden would be pissed that he'd kept quiet about it for these past four days while they'd dug out these huge trenches in the complete wrong hole, and then _she'd_ make his life a living hell for the next God knows how many months. Either way, it was a no-win situation for Stanley, so he just kept his mouth shut and slammed his shovel back into the dried up lakebed.

How many holes had he dug since he first came here? He'd lost count days ago, but out of them all, this hole was definitely the hardest.

Until tomorrow, of course, if there was going to be a fifth day of this.

Zero glanced over at him again from beneath the rim of his hat, his chocolate brown eyes darkened even more by the slight shade across his features. The thick layer of dust on his face was streaked with lines of sweat, and the back of his jumpsuit collar was damp, but he still hadn't slowed his pace at all yet. It was pretty amazing, really, for such a small boy to be such a speedy digger. There was something seriously different about Zero that separated him from the rest of the boys at Camp Green Lake in Stanley's eyes. Something… something he just couldn't describe, no matter how hard he tried.

A rush of heat in Stanley's stomach made him scowl, mostly out of annoyance because he was still completely clueless to what it meant. But he intended to find out very soon.

Or perhaps even sooner than he expected.

* * *

Stanley's prayers were answered the next day when the boys of Camp Green Lake had woken up in the morning before the sun had even risen in the sky and gathered around in front of the Mess Hall where Mr Sir told them that they were to return to their digging of individual holes. Stanley would've cheered at the top of his voice if he hadn't been yawning widely and rubbing his eyes groggily with the backs of his hands at the time.

But now he wasn't exactly in a cheering mood. He'd definitely been wrong yesterday, and by midday when Mr Sir drove up to D tent's holes with the water truck, Stanley was already wishing that they were back in the big hole. Sure, it might've taken them longer searching for something in the dried up lakebed in those large trenches, but now Stanley was back on his own he swiftly realised just how much hard work digging his five foot hole alone really was.

"Water's the most precious commodity on the face of the planet. All life begins with water. So think of it this way: I'm giving you life." Mr Sir said to Stanley as he filled up his canteen. Stanley was only half listening to him, chewing absently on his thumbnail as he waited. Squid and Zigzag were stood a little away from him, drinking from their own canteens, and Zero was in line behind him, no doubt staring at him with those dark eyes of his. Magnet was by the front of the truck, peering in through the driver's seat window before he glanced around and then stepped closer for a better view at whatever was inside that had caught his eye.

Mr Sir shut off the spray of water and held Stanley's full canteen out towards him.

"Say thank you." Mr Sir told him.

"Thank you, Mr Sir." Stanley replied, taking his canteen back and moving out of the line. Zero stepped up to take his place and Mr Sir turned his attention to the smaller springy-haired boy who was last in the queue.

"Next." He called, even though it wasn't really necessary since Zero was already there waiting. He took Zero's canteen from him and held it under the tap, starting up the flow of water again.

Stanley brought his canteen to his lips and took a deep drink, letting the icy cold water slide wondrously down his dry throat. He sidestepped Squid and Zigzag, making for his hole, but a loud crack of thunder suddenly echoed across the lakebed and everyone instantly stopped what they were doing to look up towards the mountains in the distance that were partially hidden by thick grey clouds.

Mr Sir glanced up from Zero's canteen.

"Don't get your hopes up. Them storms never make it past the mountains." He said, returning to the task at hand and shutting off the water once more now that Zero's canteen was full.

"Maybe this time they will." Stanley murmured, squinting out from beneath the peak of his battered red baseball cap. God, what he wouldn't give for one of those rain clouds to prove Mr Sir wrong.

After handing Zero his canteen back, Mr Sir straightened up and walked leisurely over to Stanley, Zigzag and Squid, his thumbs hooked in the front belt loops of his jeans. Out of the corner of his eye, Stanley watched as Zero took a quick swig of water and then wiped his mouth dry with the sleeve of his orange overalls before he jumped back down into his hole and picked up his shovel, resuming his work like the dedicated digger he was. He'd been watching Zero quite a lot more than usual lately, trying to figure out what it was about the boy that had such a strange and confusing hold over him. He'd had no luck so far. Zero was still a mystery to him.

"I got a story for you Girl Scouts." Mr Sir announced, spitting a mouthful of sunflower seed shells down onto the dusty earth at his feet. "Once upon a time, there was a magical place where it never rained…"

He paused for a moment, just for effect.

"The end."

The responding silence that followed was deafening, but that didn't stop Mr Sir from snorting at his own joke as he started back towards the front of the van, ready to deliver some water to another group of thirsty juvenile offenders digging on a different part of the lakebed.

"I don't get it." Stanley heard Squid mutter to Zigzag as he headed back to his hole. Zero shook his head from where he stood in his own hole, frowning slightly at Mr Sir's departing back for a moment before he tossed aside another shovelful of dirt.

Magnet stepped aside when Mr Sir brushed past him, moving back so the older man could get around him. Mr Sir grasped hold of the door handle of the rusty old truck and then paused as he started to open the door, looking back at the D tent boys.

"Have a nice day." He smirked, still chuckling to himself as he flung open the truck door and climbed inside.

"I never get anything he says." Squid said as the engine spluttered to life and the boys reluctantly made their way back to their unfinished holes. Magnet jumped down into his hole, slyly dropping something into the dirt as Mr Sir's truck set off across the dry lakebed. He glanced back over his shoulder, waiting until the truck was a decent distance away before he let a wide grin spread across his face.

"Hey, guys."

"What?"

Magnet bent down and picked up the bag of sunflower seeds he'd stolen, holding it up in the air for everyone to see.

"Anybody want some sunflower seeds?"

The D tent boys laugh loudly and cheer, causing Magnet's grin to widen by a couple more molars as he dug his hand into the sunflower seed sack. Naturally, X-ray was the first one to jump up out of his hole and jog over to him, and Magnet immediately held out the bag for him to take.

"I can't help it, man, my hands are like magnets!" Magnet announced proudly as X-ray drew out his own large handful of sunflower seeds before passing the bag on to Armpit.

"Mr Sticky Fingers!"

Stanley watched as the bag was tossed around, knowing it would be his turn for some seeds soon. Zero was the only one who didn't seem remotely interested in the stolen sack, keeping his eyes fixed almost unblinkingly on Mr Sir's departing water truck. His brow was furrowed as his head turned to follow the truck's progress, gripping onto the top of his shovel with one hand.

"Pass it over here, man."

"Yeah, I'll take some of those." Zigzag said. Armpit threw the bag over to him and the blonde-haired boy snatched it out of the air easily, opening the top and shoving his hand inside. Zero's expression had turned slightly uneasy and his bit his bottom lip nervously, unconsciously tightening his fingers around the wooden shaft of his shovel, his dark gaze still cast out across the lakebed.

"Hey Zig, c'mon man, hurry up."

And then suddenly, just like Zero had obviously expected to happen, the truck jerked sideways and Mr Sir executed a perfect one hundred and eighty degree turn, throwing up thick trails of dust from beneath his tires. It was just at that moment when Magnet happened to glance up from where he sat on the edge of his hole, standing up abruptly as he noticed the oncoming vehicle.

"Guys, Mr Sir's coming back. He's coming back, he's coming back!" Magnet cried with a more than a hint of panic in his voice. Without a moment's hesitation, Zigzag balls up the sunflower seed sack and tosses it carelessly straight at Stanley.

"Catch it!" He called. Stanley reached for it, he really did, but as always, luck wasn't on his side. The brown sack sailed within mere inches of Stanley's outstretched fingers and landed in his hole, spilling its contents all over the dirt at his feet and he could do no more than stare down at the mess in shock.

"Oh Stanley, butterfingers!" Zigzag shouted, and if Stanley didn't know better he'd say that Zigzag had done that on purpose. There was no time to think about it though, since Mr Sir was now tearing back towards them at breakneck speed, and Stanley was now literally up shit creek without a paddle if he was caught with the evidence.

"He's coming back!" Magnet repeated, hastily brushing a few stray seeds off his hands before he and the other boys grabbed their shovels and jumped back into their holes, pretending to be hard at work.

"Better hide it!" Someone warned, but Stanley didn't even register which boy was talking to him as he fell to his knees, scrambling frantically with his hands in the dirt, trying to cover as much of the seeds as he possibly could. Oh God, this wasn't good. This was definitely going to end badly for someone, and Stanley had a sick feeling in his gut that it was most likely going to be him.

Desperately, he staggered up out of his hole and seized his shovel, quickly upending another shovelful of dirt into his hole, then he changed his mind and leapt back down into it again, brushing through the earth one last time before he threw himself back, lounging against the edge of his hole in the same position he had been earlier, trying to act casual.

With a screech of brakes, Mr Sir pulled up beside D tent once more and got out of the truck, slamming the door behind him.

The boys had all gone back to their nonchalant digging, not one of them saying a single word as Mr Sir hitched up his trousers and started to walk slowly past them, peering into each boy's hole one after the other as he went.

Stanley picked at his fingernails, trying to remain cool despite how hard his heart was hammering against his ribs and how loud his pulse pounded in his ears. He glanced up briefly from beneath his hat and then glanced straight back down at his fingers again, swallowing thickly in apprehension.

Oh God, please don't let him see the seeds, please don't let him find them…

But, of course, that damned curse of his surfaced at the worst possible moment.

After checking Armpit's hole, Mr Sir looked up and his gaze just happened to fall straight on Stanley's hole and he stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes. And just like that, Stanley knew he'd been caught practically red-handed.

"Well, well." Mr Sir said as he strode over to him. He came to a halt beside Stanley's hole and gestured down to it. "How did this get here?"

"What?" Stanley replied, still trying to play it dumb even though he knew he didn't have a hope in hell. Too late for that now.

Mr Sir gestured again, his eyes narrowed coldly beneath his cowboy hat.

"How did that get there?"

Reluctantly, Stanley dropped his gaze to the earth at his feet, inwardly groaning when he noticed one corner of the brown sack that he hadn't been able to cover with dirt in time.

"Did it fall from the sky? Huh?" Mr Sir mocked him sardonically, his lips peppered with tiny white pieces of sunflower seeds. Stanley hesitated for a second before he got to his feet in resigned acceptance, bending down to retrieve the sack as he did so.

"No." He admitted. Mr Sir spat out his mouthful of sunflower seed shells to one side and Stanley took the opportunity to shoot a quick glance over at Magnet. The Hispanic boy was already looking straight at him with pleading eyes, and Stanley fought the urge to sigh out loud. Great. Just great.

Stanley held out the now empty sack towards Mr Sir.

"I stole it out of your truck." He lied, taking the blame because he knew that D tent would give him hell if he told on Magnet. Or maybe it was just because Stanley Yelnats was too nice for his own good. Either that, or too scared.

Mr Sir snatched the bag from him.

"I think maybe the Warden'd like to see what you found." Mr Sir said ominously, and Stanley honestly thought for a second that his heart had stopped beating. Ok, now he was scared. Now he was freaking terrified! There wasn't a doubt in Stanley's mind that the Warden would punish him severely for this, and he was sure that his face had paled a couple of shades lighter beneath it's coating of dust at the thought.

Zero must've noticed though, because Stanley could see out of the corner of his eye that the boy was staring at him like always, his thin pointed face still creased into a frown, but this time his dark chocolate eyes were narrowed in what looked to be confusion and perhaps something else that Stanley couldn't quite name. Maybe he didn't understand why Stanley had just stuck his neck out on the block for Magnet. Hell, even Stanley didn't understand why he'd done it. And now, he really wished he hadn't.

Mr Sir turned away, gesturing for Stanley to follow him as he set off back towards his truck.

"Let's go."

Stanley repressed another heavy sigh as he reluctantly climbed out of his hole and made his way after Mr Sir. Every one of the D tent boys had stopped digging now and they were all staring at Stanley as he walked past them, although no one's gaze was anywhere near as penetrating as Zero's. Stanley felt as though the smaller boy's eyes were drilling twin holes into the back of his head, but then again, that was nothing new.

"Y'all having a nice day?" Mr Sir asked D tent casually as he passed by them.

"Yes, Mr Sir." Came the almost monotonic reply that Stanley didn't bother to join in with. He skirted around X-ray's hole with his eyes downcast, glancing up just in time to catch the dark-skinned boy's gaze as he spread his arms wide questioningly, scowling up at him.

"Hey, what're you doing, dog?" He whispered sharply, but Stanley didn't answer as he just kept on walking.

"Caveman?" Magnet started, but Stanley ignored him too. His mind was working overtime right now, thinking of all the different ways the red-haired woman could punish him for something he hadn't done. Huh, that'll be the second time he's been blamed for a crime he didn't commit. It was starting to become habit by now.

"See what turns up." Mr Sir remarked absently to D tent as he climbed back into his truck for the second time in less than ten minutes, but Stanley didn't miss the cruel smirk that twisted his mouth as he yanked the front door shut again. A shiver of fear trailed the entire length of Stanley's spine as he made his way around the other side of the water truck to the passenger seat.

Before he joined Mr Sir in the front seat, Stanley glanced over the top of the dusty roof of the truck and his gaze instantly met Zero's, just as he knew it would. The smallest boy of D tent looked almost thoughtful as stared back at him, and Stanley offered him a small smile in farewell before he turned away and climbed into the passenger seat, too scared to acknowledge the familiar spread of heat in his stomach.

As Mr Sir set out once again across the dry barren lakebed, Stanley couldn't help but feel like he was about to face the firing squad. Committing a crime at a juvenile detention centre wasn't really the best of plans, even if Stanley himself hadn't done it. He was going to get punished for it, though.

At least he got to enjoy a few minutes of the truck's heavenly air conditioning before Mr Sir pulled up in front of the Warden's cabin and Stanley's heart plummeted straight down to his feet in fear and dread.

* * *

Stanley walked hurriedly back out onto the lakebed, eager to put as much distance between himself and the Warden as he possibly could. No way on earth had he expected anything like _that_ to happen. Rattlesnake venom in her nail polish, who the hell does that? He'd felt the slight unpleasant sting of it when she'd trailed her fingernails lightly down the side of his face, but he knew that it had been nowhere near as painful as that vicious slap she'd given Mr Sir for wasting her time that had ended up with him staggering to the floor and thrashing around in agony at her feet.

The closer Stanley got to the place where D tent were still digging under the ruthless blazing sun, the more he calmed down, his footsteps slowing into a more casual pace as his heartbeat thumped steadily back to its normal rhythm. Tiredness was starting to set in again with his aching muscles now that the adrenaline was leaving his system once more. That wasn't really a good sign, considering how he'd got to finish his hole now and was already so far behind with it even before Mr Sir took him away. He was going to be stuck out here well after sunset. God, could today get any worse? Stanley highly doubted that.

Zigzag was the first to notice him.

"Hey, look who showed up." Zigzag called, pausing in his digging for a moment. All the other boys stopped digging almost simultaneously and looked up from their holes, staring at Stanley as he approached them. Stanley purposely avoided their questioning gazes, focusing more on the dirt beneath his feet as he picked his way across the dusty earth. Right now, an interrogation was the last thing he needed.

"Hey, man, we thought you were dead for sure!" Squid shouted. Stanley absently kicked at a random dirt pile when he walked past it on his way towards them.

"Hey, Caveman. What you say?" Magnet asked, squinting at him through the merciless glare of the sun. Zero lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Stanley, his brow furrowed into that same small frown from before as he stopped digging and rested both hands almost casually on the wooden shaft of his shovel.

"Nothing."

"What she do to you?" X-ray demanded as Stanley shrugged vaguely, not wanting to elaborate. Why should he? It'd be a waste of time anyway, and he really couldn't be bothered explaining everything that had happened to them.

"Nothing." He repeated. There were expressions of incredulity from all around him, with Squid raising his eyebrows and Armpit huffing in disbelief before returning his attention back to his hole.

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, she didn't do nothing." Stanley said. He reached behind him and rubbed his sore back tiredly as he approached his hole, mentally preparing himself for the daunting task of completing it.

But Stanley couldn't believe his eyes when he found his hole already dug for him. A wide smile started to spread across his face and he let out a laugh, crouching down and seizing his shovel from where it lay on the ground beside it, measuring the depth.

Zero tore his gaze away from Stanley and turned back to his own hole, slamming his shovel forcefully into the dirt.

"What is this? Thank you, guys! Man!" Stanley exclaimed happily. Magnet grinned at him and shook his head slightly.

"Don't look at us." He said.

"Yeah, it was Zero." Zigzag told him, looking back over his shoulder at the smaller boy in question. Zero looked up briefly, his eyes narrowed almost in annoyance towards the crazy-haired blond boy before he dug another shovelful of earth and dumped it on the growing pile beside his growing hole. For the first time ever, Zero's hole was the smallest and the most shallow.

"The boy likes to dig holes."

"He'd dig a hole to China." Armpit was saying, but Stanley wasn't listening to the others anymore, his attention focused solely on Zero as he straightened up from beside his finished hole and made his way over to the smaller boy.

"Yeah, man, where do them Chinese kids dig to?"

"Man, shut up!"

Zero shovelled another load of dirt and glanced up, catching sight of Stanley approaching him before he dropped his gaze again, jabbing his shovel into the ground and leaving it standing on its own as he straightened up and looked expectantly at Stanley as he sat himself down on the edge of his hole, his long legs dangling over the side.

"Hey, Zero. Why'd you dig my hole, man?" Stanley asked him softly, watching Zero intently. The boy confused him to no end, and he still had absolutely no idea how his mind worked or what he wanted. All Stanley knew was that Zero had taken some kind of shine to him that he just couldn't understand or explain. He couldn't think of any reason _why_ exactly, but he desperately needed to figure it out soon. That heated feeling in the pit of his stomach was irritating beyond belief now.

"You didn't steal the sunflower seeds." Zero replied seriously, shaking his head slightly from one side to the other, his corkscrew curls swaying a little with the movement.

"Yeah, but neither did you." Stanley pointed out as he turned away to absently throw a stray pebble aside before returning his eyes to Zero's sweat-slicked dusty face. Zero's gaze dropped for a moment, seemingly contemplating something before he lifted his chin again in that oddly defiant way. Stanley felt as though those dark rich chocolate eyes were blazing straight into his very soul.

"You didn't steal the shoes."

Stanley blinked in surprise, his own hazel eyes widening in disbelief. How did he know that? Stanley hadn't told anyone the truth, just letting them go on believing what they wanted to believe. Either Zero was psychic or something, or he was just exceptionally good at reading people. There was definitely more to that boy than first meets the eye, that's for sure.

Stanley looked away thoughtfully for a few seconds, deciding on something he really should've decided on days ago. He returned his gaze to Zero, who was still staring at him, looking as unreadable as always.

"Still want to learn how to read?" Stanley asked. Zero's face scrunched up into a small frown of confusion as he nodded hesitantly at Stanley's random question. Stanley flashed him a small smile, leaning forwards with his hand outstretched towards the dark-skinned boy. Instinctively, Zero stepped up to meet him, clasping his hand and shaking it once.

"Alright, man."

Zero stared down at their hands for a moment, an emotion Stanley didn't recognise flickering across his features so fast that he would've missed it entirely had he not been watching him intently.

But this time there was no mistaking the pink flush that tinted Zero's cheeks as he stepped back and released Stanley's hand almost reluctantly, rewarding Stanley with the first genuine smile he had ever witnessed from Zero, lighting up his entire face like a jack-o-lantern.

And also for the first time, Stanley actually welcomed the responding rush of warmth that spread through his abdomen.

* * *

**God, I've just realised how long this chapter is. Over 7000 words, there goes my 5000 word limit per chapter then . haha**

**Anyways, did you like? Review for me please, your reviews mean so much to me and they fuel my creativity :D Thank you!**

**P.S - next chapter, the LOVE BEGINS! XD So keep an eye out for this boys and girls :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there, everyone! Before I start, I just want to apologise for um... misleading you last chapter ^^; When I said in my P.S that the 'love' starts in this chapter, what i really should've said was 'wake-up call' hehe :D**

**Updating this from college again, seems to be a regular thing now XD And these chapters just get longer and longer, damn them ¬¬**

**Oh, i should give you a warning, I suppose. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ROMANTIC SITUATIONS AND FLUFFY STUFF, ok? Just so you know :D**

**Read on and review for me, yeah? Thanks! ^^**

* * *

Chapter 4:

Stanley had been seriously dreading seeing Mr Sir again after what had happened back in the Warden's cabin, considering how it'd been his fault that the Warden scratched him with her rattlesnake fingers. And Mr Sir didn't really seem to be a forgiving man to him, so naturally he had every right to be anxious.

Mr Sir turned off the water tap, handing the now full canteen back to Magnet.

"Next." He said, hitching up his trousers as Magnet took a deep drink and moved aside, letting Stanley step forwards to take his place. Stanley held his canteen out towards Mr Sir almost reluctantly as Zero moved up a little behind him, squinting suspiciously at the older man with his dark chocolate eyes, the rim of his hat folded back slightly from his forehead so the sunlight was blazing down onto his entire face for a change.

There was a nasty glint in Mr Sir's eye when he glanced slyly from Stanley to his canteen and then back to Stanley again. Stanley's apprehension suddenly increased tenfold.

"You thirsty, Yelnats?" Mr Sir asked. Stanley nodded.

"Yes, Mr Sir." He replied hoarsely, his throat feeling like it'd been scrubbed with sandpaper. He'd drained his canteen of water ages ago, so now he was so thirsty that it actually hurt him to talk. Mr Sir's lip quirked ever so slightly upwards as he turned on the water tap and held out Stanley's canteen, but he didn't put it under the stream of water, instead letting the icy cold liquid splash down onto the dirt at their feet.

Zero's gaze flickered down, his brow furrowing into an almost incredulous frown as he focused on the puddle spreading across the ground, watching as it was rapidly absorbed by the dry earth. Stanley just blinked in resigned acceptance. He'd expected something like this to happen, that Mr Sir would get his revenge in some way or another, so it didn't really come as much of a shock to him. He resisted the urge to sigh heavily as not even a single drop of water entered his canteen.

After a few moments, Mr Sir turned the tap off again and glared up at Stanley out of the corner of his eye. Stanley tried not to wince as he took in the sight of Mr Sir's face, the right side swollen and mottled red and purple, with two deep scratches running the length of his cheek that had been clumsily covered with a strip of thin gauze. It looked every bit as bad as it undoubtedly felt, and Stanley couldn't help but feel eternally grateful that the Warden hadn't done the same to him.

Mr Sir shoved Stanley's empty canteen forcefully against his chest.

"There, that should hold ya." Mr Sir said, his voice dangerous and low, as though he expected Stanley to argue or complain or something. That wasn't going to happen. Stanley wasn't suicidal.

"Next."

Stanley stepped out of line and walked away, heading back in the direction of his unfinished hole and Zero took his place in the queue, his gaze still fixed on the small pool seeping into the floor as he handed Mr Sir his canteen.

Stanley's fingers absently brushed against the smooth plastic in his hands as he stared out onto the dried up lakebed, his mind beginning to wander back to that golden tube he'd found all those days ago. They'd all guessed that it was a gold shotgun shell at first, but now that Stanley thought about it, he was suddenly struck with realisation.

In the Warden's cabin… there had been pictures. Wanted posters and newspaper clippings about the outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow, all framed up there on the wall. Those were the only pictures the Warden had in that cabin that Stanley had seen, and there'd been no sign of any photographs of her family or friends. If she even _had_ any family or friends, that is. Stanley couldn't really imagine the Warden as the type of woman to have that many acquaintances outside Camp Green Lake.

Hold on. The initials engraved in the tube… K.B. After seeing the Warden's Kate Barlow collection, there wasn't a single doubt in Stanley's mind that that tube had definitely belonged to the female outlaw that had kissed God knows how many men to their deaths. And since that this was Kissin' Kate Barlow, that tube must've been a tube of…

"Magnet, wipe that smile off your face. Yes, you!" Mr Sir called gruffly to Magnet, his voice jerking Stanley abruptly back to reality as the older man strode past him, making his way back around to the front of his truck, obviously having just finished filling Zero's canteen.

Stanley blinked a few times, now sat on the edge of his hole, his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms resting casually on his knees. He squinted out across the horizon again from beneath his battered red hat for a couple of seconds before a blur of orange disrupted his vision, Zero having just jumped into his hole and landed directly in front of him.

Zero took a small step towards Stanley, holding out his canteen.

"Want some water?" He asked. Stanley hesitated for a second, mostly out of surprise more than anything, and then he leaned forwards and took the heavy canteen from the smaller boy. A single droplet of icy water slid slowly down the neck of the bottle and Stanley unintentionally thought back to that night outside the showers where he'd watched a similar water droplet trail down Zero's spine. Stanley was immensely grateful that Zero had looked away from him at that moment to seize hold of the shovel that Stanley had abandoned, or the sudden rush of pink that spread across Stanley's face would've given him away in a heartbeat.

Forcing himself to mentally beat back the memory, Stanley paused as he was about to open the top of Zero's canteen to take a much-needed drink. Zero dug the tip of the shovel into the ground almost absently, gripping onto the wooden shaft with one hand as he stared curiously at Stanley, watching the taller boy set the canteen down on the dirt beside him without drinking from it.

"Remember that gold tube?" Stanley asked, now almost a hundred percent sure about the Kate Barlow thing. Out of everyone in D tent, Zero was really the only one he trusted. Why? He didn't know. But he really wanted to share his newfound assumptions with the springy-haired boy. He knew Zero wouldn't tell anyone else, because the Zero didn't tell anyone anything. Like Armpit had pointed out to Pendanski, Zero only spoke to Stanley.

"Yeah." Zero replied, nodding his head slightly. Stanley dropped his knees down and moved his elbows onto his thighs, leaning forwards a little, his fingernails scraping lightly over the layer of dust and dirt that clung to his orange jumpsuit.

"I think that the tube… was a tube of lipstick, y'know?" Stanley told him, trying to keep his voice low so that none of the others would overhear him. Zero reached up and let his hand cover the top of his shovel casually, leaning against it slightly. "And that 'K.B' stands for Kate Barlow."

Zero shifted his weight to one side, tilting his head as he narrowed his eyes doubtfully at Stanley. At that angle, the smooth line of his neck gleamed wetly in the fierce sunlight, and Stanley couldn't focus on anything else but the column of Zero's throat. The dark-skinned boy didn't seem to notice, though. Or if he did, he didn't say anything about it.

"Kissin' Kate Barlow?"

Stanley paused once more, tearing his gaze from Zero's throat and nodding in certainty. He knew he was right about this. He didn't know _how_ he knew exactly, it was more of a… feeling, he supposed. The Warden was definitely looking for something of Kate Barlow's that had been buried out here on the dried up lakebed of Camp Green Lake.

"Kissin' Kate Barlow." Stanley repeated with as much conviction as he could manage. Zero continued to stare at him for several long moments, his dark eyes thoughtful beneath his dusty hat. His hands tightened and slackened a few times around the wooden shaft of the shovel he held and Stanley took the opportunity to pick up Zero's bottle from beside him, unscrew the top and swallow several mouthfuls of icy cold water, letting it soothe his parched throat.

Zero watched him as he drank, but his eyes were no longer thoughtful. Now they looked even darker than before, practically pitch black, and hard with resolution and determination, as though he'd just made a decision about something that had been previously troubling him.

Stanley assumed that it was something to do with his Kissin' Kate Barlow theory.

After all, what else could it be?

* * *

It hadn't taken them long to finish their holes. As usual, Stanley had been the last one to complete his, but Zero had slowed down his digging pace and waited so that they could both walk back to Camp together. So now, after taking a shower and grabbing a quick snack from the Mess Hall, they were back in D tent, sat on Stanley's bed with a small chest of drawers pulled in front of them as a makeshift table for them to rest their papers on. It was their first reading lesson, and even though Stanley hadn't a clue how he was going to teach Zero how to read and write, he'd decided that he owed the smaller boy enough to give it a go.

"Z… E… R… O. That's it." Stanley sounded out as he wrote each letter down individually on the piece of paper, the pencil making a light scratching sound as it moved over the surface.

Zero's eyes were fixed almost unblinkingly on the paper, moistening his lips with the tip of his tongue as Stanley underlined the word ZERO and sat back, reaching up to rub at his eye. Zero turned his head and flickered his gaze up to meet Stanley's.

"I can help you dig your hole so you won't be so tired to teach me." The smaller boy offered. Stanley briefly considered it, then shook his head with a small but warm smile.

"No, I'm fine."

"Look. You're a slow digger." Zero told him, leaning back a little with a playful smile quirking his lips, flashing Stanley a glimpse of pearly white teeth. Stanley laughed as he casually twisted his pencil in his mouth sideways, grinning at Zero with the thin stick of wood wedged between his teeth. Zero's eyes were sparkling in a way that made Stanley's heart feel like it'd literally leapt up into his throat. They were like pools of melted chocolate, and Stanley was impossibly close to drowning in them.

"Ohh, you're trying to bag on me?" Stanley chuckled. Zero nodded and gave him a proper full grin back that was so wide it caused dimples to appear in both his caramel cheeks. It was quite adorable, actually.

"Yeah, I'm trying to bag on you." Zero smiled, then turned serious again. "Alright, this way we'll be done at the same time."

He had a good point there. Zero was the fastest digger in the entire camp, and Stanley was the slowest. If Zero dug a part of his hole every day, then Stanley would have more than enough energy to teach him to read every evening when they got back to D tent. And since Zero was offering, why should Stanley say no? It seemed like a perfectly logical solution that would work out for both of them.

"Well, it couldn't hurt." Stanley admitted, brushing the back of his hand against his own cheek absently. Zero's teeth found his bottom lip again as he leaned forwards, reaching for the paper with his own pencil.

"Go ahead." Stanley encouraged him when he hesitated for a moment before making a start on the first letter, copying it out underneath Stanley's example.

"Z…" Stanley read aloud, watching Zero over the smaller boy's shoulder as he moved onto the E, still biting his lip in concentration. It seemed to be a kind of nervous habit of his, and one that Stanley would sooner die than admit to himself that he found it strangely endearing.

"E…" After two correct letters, Zero tried the R, and Stanley stopped him when he made a slight mistake. He supposed it could've been picky, but Stanley was determined to teach Zero right

"No, this has to go out like this." Stanley said, turning his pencil around and using the rubber on the end to erase the small part of Zero's R that wasn't right, then corrected it himself. "That's an R, ok?"

Zero didn't reply, totally focused on nothing but the paper and pencil in front of him as he reached out again to finish off spelling his name.

"This one's easy." Stanley smiled gently, even though Zero wasn't looking at him when he did so. "O. That's it."

Stanley's eyes followed the smooth circle Zero drew onto the paper, finishing the final letter perfectly before he sat back again, staring down at his shaky handwriting with a contemplative expression creasing his brow. He paused, and then twisted his head around to fix his gaze on Stanley again.

"Y'know, Zero's not my real name." Zero told him. Stanley's head snapped around to stare at him in surprise. He shouldn't really have been so shocked, to be honest. It was pretty obvious that Zero wasn't a proper first name. What kind of person would seriously name their child Zero? Nobody would do that.

"It's not? But even Pendanski calls you Zero." Stanley blurted out before he could stop himself and think of something a bit more intelligent to say, gesturing vaguely at Zero with his pencil. Zero didn't seem to mind, though.

"My name's Hector. Hector Zeroni."

"Hector Zeroni." Stanley repeated, the name tasting odd on his tongue. He just couldn't associate it with the dark-skinned boy sat in front of him, no matter how hard he tried. It didn't… seem to fit him at all. Maybe it was just because Stanley was so used to calling him Zero and hadn't really considered the fact that Zero was as much of a nickname to Hector Zeroni as Caveman was to him.

It wasn't an unpleasant name, just unusual since Stanley wasn't familiar with it. With the beginnings of a smile playing at his lips, Stanley switched his pencil to his left hand, extending his now free right hand towards Zero. Zero glanced down at his hand for a second in confusion before realisation dawned and he gently grasped it with his own.

"Nice to meet you, Hector." Stanley grinned as they shook hands. Zero's palm was warm and rough, calloused from digging holes out on the lakebed every day, much like Stanley's own rugged hands.

Zero grinned straight back at him, dimples and all.

"Nice to meet you." He replied warmly.

Perhaps it was just Stanley's imagination, but they seemed to be holding each other's hand for a little longer than was completely necessary after the initial handshake.

And it must've also been his imagination that when they did reluctantly let go, he could've sworn that the way in which Zero lightly stroked the pads of his fingers down Stanley's palm wasn't entirely accidental. But he dismissed both of those things and just kept on smiling at Hector Zeroni, who was fast becoming the best friend he'd ever had. In fact, he'd be the _first_ best friend he'd ever had.

That familiar warm feeling was curling pleasantly around in his stomach, and his hand tingled slightly where Zero had touched it.

Stanley kept on smiling throughout their entire reading lesson, thoroughly enjoying spending time with Zero, feeling happy and content for the first time during his stay at Camp Green Lake.

* * *

"Twenty six letters." Zero said, pausing in his digging for a moment to look over at Stanley who was digging beside him, both of them working together in Stanley's hole. "We can do five letters a day for four days, and then six letters on the fifth day."

Stanley tossed aside a shovelful of dirt and then stabbed his shovel down into the ground, balancing it on its metal tip as he turned his attention to Zero. The smaller boy was squinting against the harsh sunlight, his corkscrew curls casting shadows over his dark eyes. He wasn't wearing his hat today for a change, instead letting it hang down his back, secured around his throat by the long black string attached to it.

"That's good math." Stanley replied, impressed. Zero might not be the world's greatest speller, but by God, could that boy count. He seemed to have a gift for numbers that Stanley found himself only slightly jealous about.

Zero glanced at him before he started digging again, both of them shovelling through the dirt in the bottom of the hole.

"I'm not stupid." Zero pointed out, sounding a little defensive as he shook his head slightly. And Stanley fully understood why, so he didn't hold it against him. "I know everyone thinks I am, I just don't like answering stupid questions."

Stanley had opened his mouth to reply when a shadow fell across them from above, and Stanley and Zero looked up to see X-ray and Squid standing on the dirt pile at the top of Stanley's hole, both leaning on their shovels as they peered down disdainfully at the two boys below them.

"Hey, yo, Caveman." X-ray called. Stanley and Zero stopped digging and Stanley stared up at the taller boys, whereas Zero turned away for a second and shook his head in annoyance, his lips pressed into a thin sharp line and his eyes narrowed and cold with anger before he turned back to face X-ray and Squid again.

"Should be kinda easy, working with your own personal slave, and all, huh?" X-ray smiled at them mockingly. Without waiting for an answer, he picked up his shovel, transferring his gaze from Stanley to Zero.

"What's up, stupid?" X-ray smirked, obviously having heard the last part of Stanley and Zero's conversation before he and Squid had interrupted them. The taller dark-skinned boy then twirled his shovel in one hand and walked away, still smirking back at them over his shoulder as he left.

"C'mon, Squid."

Squid hadn't said anything, just kept on scowling down at them while chewing on his toothpick in the corner of his mouth. As X-ray passed behind him, Squid purposely knocked down a shovelful of dirt back into the hole, and Stanley and Zero quickly moved to block it with their own shovels, the metal blades clanging together loudly.

"Whatever." Squid muttered as he made his way after X-ray, moving back to their own holes.

Zero's face wore a fierce scowl of his own, following X-ray and Squid's exit with eyes as hard and cold as ice. Stanley just blinked after them, wondering what the hell their problem was. Sure, it might look a bit odd to them, but if it were X-ray whom Zero helped dig his holes everyday, then no one would say a damn word against it. He could still feel the burning anger that had risen up inside him like a rattlesnake when X-ray had called Zero stupid to his face. Right then, Stanley had wanted to pull himself out of his hole and stand up in Zero's defence, but he knew that wouldn't have been a wise move. There wasn't a doubt in Stanley's mind that X-ray would've probably just laughed in his face and knocked him straight back down into his hole again.

Zero tore his furious gaze away from their departing backs and dug his shovel back down into the earth a little bit more aggressively than before. Stanley watched him for a moment as he threw aside three more small piles of dirt carelessly, his expression still pinched and angry. And upset as well, Stanley thought. He could tell by the tiniest upwards tilt to Zero's furrowed eyebrows.

"Hey, don't let them get to you, man." Stanley said, his voice soft. Zero paused for a second, glancing up at him with an unreadable look flickering across his dark brown irises.

"I won't." Zero responded, but Stanley could see by the slight drooping of his previously squared shoulders that it already had got to him. Hating seeing Zero like this, Stanley reached out without a second thought and brushed his gloved hand through Zero's hair, ruffling his corkscrew black curls affectionately. Zero's entire body froze in surprise before he laughed at the funny feeling tickling the top of his head and squirmed, ducking out of Stanley's reach with a wide grin on his face.

Stanley grinned playfully back at him for a moment, and then let his smile dim slightly and his eyes soften as he looked down at the smaller boy in front of him.

"I don't think you're stupid." Stanley told him sincerely. Zero blinked up at him, his own grin softening into a small but grateful smile, his chocolate eyes warm and friendly once more.

"I know." Zero said, giving him a tiny nod of appreciation before they both returned their attention to the task at hand of digging Stanley's hole, tightening their grips on the wooden shafts of their shovels as one and forcing them down into the dirt beneath them.

"Thanks, Stanley." Zero murmured, so quietly that Stanley barely managed to hear him, but he was immensely happy that he had.

He didn't reply, because he didn't have to, and he continued to dig beside Zero with a light heart and a smile on his face.

* * *

They were back in the tent again, their second reading lesson on the second day of their agreement and completely alone, the other D tent boys either stuffing their faces in the Mess Hall or destroying things in the Wreck Room. Either way, Stanley didn't really care what they were doing, as long as they didn't disturb him and Zero.

"M… O… M…" Zero sounded out, his attention completely focused as he wrote down each letter on the pad of paper in front of them, copying Stanley's examples. He'd already written the words KING and LIKE without any trouble, so Stanley expected he'd complete the others just as easily.

"Yeah." Stanley smiled at him when he finished the word MOM, but then his smile faltered slightly as Zero didn't continue, instead sitting back and staring down at the word he'd just written with an unreadable expression on his face.

Slowly, Zero looked up, staring straight forwards at the opposite side of the tent without really seeing it, his thoughts obviously elsewhere. His dark eyes flickered around the space for a moment, as though he was deciding whether or not to say what was on his mind.

"We weren't always homeless." Zero announced suddenly. Stanley glanced over at him, moving the pencil that had been resting against his bottom lip down from his face. "I remember we used to live in a lot of different places. And then… we didn't live anywhere."

Zero shrugged his shoulders a little, turning his head to meet Stanley's gaze briefly before dropping his eyes down to stare at his own clasped hands in his lap. Stanley's heart clenched painfully in his chest, blinking as he tried to think of an appropriate response. Was there an appropriate response to something like that? There was nothing he could think of to say that would make Zero feel any better.

"It must've been hard." Stanley said softly, his smile now completely gone.

"Yeah. My mom had problems, but she would try so hard to make a better life for us. She always used to say: 'I love you more than air'." Zero shook his head slightly and turned back to Stanley again. "She couldn't take me everywhere she went. I used to have to wait like on a porch or a playground."

Zero sighed heavily.

"Then one day she didn't come back."

Stanley glanced over at Zero, then looked down for a moment before returning his gaze to the smaller dark-skinned boy beside him.

"What happened to her?" Stanley asked, curious despite himself. Zero sighed again, this time even heavier than before. Stanley felt a wave of sympathy for the boy, and only just restrained himself from wrapping an arm around his slim shoulders and hugging him tightly.

"I don't know." Zero admitted. "That's what bothers me the most. If I could, I would hire a whole team of private investigators, just to find her. Or to find out what happened to her."

This was the most Zero had even spoken to him, and Stanley half-wished that he hadn't mentioned this at all. It was just horrible to imagine Zero living on the streets, with his mother nowhere to be found. Stanley had thought his life had been hard, living with his mom, dad and grandpa in a small flat that constantly reeked of foot odour, but at least he'd had his family with him and a roof over his head. Zero had neither of them.

"I used to wait at Laney Park." Zero added almost absently, as though he was talking to himself. Stanley sat upright, his eyes widening with recognition of the name of the place.

"Laney Park?" Stanley asked, his smile starting to return. Zero nodded once with a small thoughtful frown creasing his features.

"Yeah."

"I used to go to Laney Park all the time!" Stanley exclaimed. He was smiling widely now, almost excited by the thought that the two of them had been so nearby in the past without even knowing about each other's existence. It almost felt like destiny, in a way, that they'd met up in Camp Green Lake after that.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah!"

"I used to sleep in the tunnel next to the swinging bridge." Zero told him. Stanley's face dropped instantly, his smile disappearing so fast that it looked like it'd literally been stolen from his mouth. Zero shook his head and gave him a small apologetic smile. "But no biggie."

Zero returned his attention down to the paper in front of him, leaning forwards with his pencil to complete the next word, his corkscrew curls swinging to hide his eyes from Stanley's side view of his face. Stanley stared at him, furiously trying to beat back the mental image in his head of Zero curled up inside that tunnel at Laney Park, shivering and crying, hugging himself into a ball to conserve as much body heat as he could. It made a nasty feeling trail his spine, causing Stanley to shudder slightly beside him. Zero glanced at him curiously out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything else, instead focusing almost unblinkingly on the pad of paper in front of him.

Ten minutes passed by slowly in silence, and the rest of their reading lesson would've undoubtedly continued in the same way if Zero hadn't happened to make a small mistake and Stanley instinctively leaned in closer to correct it.

Zero hadn't realised his error at first, since Stanley hadn't verbally pointed it out to him, so he was completely unprepared when Stanley leaned down beside him, and he also didn't have time to move out of his way so their faces passed a little closer than they should've. Stanley didn't react as Zero's springy curls swept against the side of his face, but Zero inhaled shallowly, his body freezing rigid in unexpected shock. Imperceptive as ever, Stanley completely missed Zero's reaction, rubbing out the misspelled letter and rewriting it properly.

"Stanley…" Zero murmured his name softly, trailing off as though he was about to say something else but didn't know how to word it. His breath ghosted against Stanley's cheek and Stanley turned his head sharply towards him in surprise only to find that Zero had been much closer to him than he'd expected and their lips met in a brief accidental kiss, no more than their mouths brushing together for less than a second before they drew apart just as quickly.

The two boys stared at each other with pink flushes dusting their cheeks and wide eyes, both breathing a little deeper than before and both silently willing the other to speak first.

"Zero, what was that?" Stanley finally worked up the courage to ask, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Zero blinked rapidly, panic in his chocolate eyes as his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip nervously. Stanley wished he hadn't done that, because his eyes immediately followed the slick line it left in its wake across Zero's soft full lips.

"I-I don't know… I just… I just had to do it…" He stammered. His eyes flickered around the room for a moment, looking anywhere but at Stanley. But then, he suddenly looked him straight in the eyes again. Judging by the hard determination in his dark chocolate eyes, he'd decided that he had nothing left to lose as he seized hold of Stanley's face and pulled him back towards him, pressing their mouths together forcefully.

Stanley didn't move for half a second before he found himself responding to the feel of Zero's mouth on his, kissing the smaller boy back just as fiercely. Zero gave a wonderful contented groan in the back of his throat that sent shivers straight down Stanley's spine (only these were _good _shivers this time) as the smaller boy's arms wound themselves around Stanley's neck and Stanley's hands crept up the smooth dark skin of Zero's face, burying themselves in the mass of corkscrew black curls.

Zero's teeth caught Stanley's bottom lip completely unintentionally, but Stanley moaned at the sensation, yanking Zero as close to his body as he possibly could. Zero gasped in shock, and Stanley immediately took advantage of the boy's open mouth and dove right in with his tongue.

Two hands were now gripping onto Stanley's shoulders, ten fingernails digging into his skin through the orange jumpsuit. The position they were both in was a little uncomfortable as they tried to fit their mouths together in the most effective way, which was kinda difficult when they were sat side by side, so Zero took the initiative and pushed himself onto Stanley's lap, kneeling with his legs either side of Stanley's thighs as he fought back with his own tongue.

How the hell this had happened was beyond Stanley, but right now he didn't want it to stop for anything in the world. In fact, if the other D tent boys walked in here right now, Stanley would've been so caught up in Zero that he wouldn't have even noticed. And he doubted he would've cared either.

They broke apart to breathe, but that didn't stop Stanley from leaning in again and swiping his tongue upwards along the length of Zero's throat, the smaller boy tilting his head back with another hoarse little gasp as his eyelids slid blissfully shut.

"S-Stanley…" Zero panted, swallowing thickly as Stanley's tongue played across his Adams apple. "I… I think I…"

Suddenly there was a roar of laughter from outside, not far from the tent. Stanley and Zero froze instantly, hardly daring to breathe through kiss-swollen lips.

The D tent boys must've finished eating or gotten bored with the Wreck Room, because their laughing and joking grew louder the closer they got to the tent. Stanley and Zero's eyes met in a brief second of pure panic before Zero practically leapt off Stanley's lap onto the dusty floor, scrambling for the pencils and writing pad they'd previously dropped, and Stanley licked his lips nervously, brushing a hand quickly through his hair and replacing his battered red hat on his head. Ok, so he'd been wrong. He definitely _would _care if the boys had walked in on him and Zero playing tonsil-tennis on his bed, which they very nearly just did.

The tent flap was thrown open and the five boys entered, stopping when they took in the scene before them: Stanley sitting on the bed so straight that it looked like he had a metal rod where his spine should be, his hands clasped in his lap almost impossibly tight, and Zero crouched on the floor by the bed, clutching the pad of paper and the pencils to his chest. They both had a deer-caught-in-headlights expression on their faces that would've been funny if the situation wasn't so life-threatening, which indeed it was, because Stanley didn't really expect these guys to be so cool with two boys kissing, especially in an all-male juvenile detention centre.

Five sets of eyebrows rose questioningly, but no one really seemed to care what they'd just interrupted, no doubt seeing the words written on the paper Zero held and figuring it out for themselves. Figuring out that it was a reading lesson, not figuring out ... the kissing bit. Oh God. The kissing bit.

Zero had kissed him.

_Zero_ had _kissed_ him!

And he...

He'd kissed Zero back!

And he'd liked it. He'd liked it a lot. Maybe a hell of a lot more than he should've, considering. That warm feeling in his stomach was so hot now that it felt like his insides were literally on fire, and Stanley had felt sparks when Zero's lips touched his, electricity igniting every single nerve-ending in his body. Being a sixteen-year-old boy, Stanley was no stranger to arousal, but what he felt now was so much more than that. Sure, the arousal was still there, but it was kinda drowned out by something else. Panic, probably. But deeper than that, there was… something. Just something.

The D tent boys made their way over to their own beds without a backwards glance, conversation starting back up amongst them as they basically ignored Stanley and Zero. They were all still pissed about Zero digging Stanley's holes with him, that much was obvious. But Stanley had bigger problems to worry about rather than the mood of his fellow juvenile delinquents.

Zero straightened up slowly from the floor, his eyes downcast and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Stanley bet his own face was the exact same shade of pink, but he forced himself to calm down as much as he could as Zero set the writing pad and the pencils down on the bed beside him and then hovered there uncertainly, like he didn't know what he should do next.

Unseen by the others, Stanley's hand shot out and he gently but firmly grasped hold of Zero's thin wrist, pulling him towards him so he could whisper to the smaller boy without being overheard by anyone else. The warmth of his caramel skin against his made the heat in Stanley's stomach flare up again in response, and he found it impossibly hard not to lean in and kiss those delicious lips that were barely inches away from his own. By some miracle, though, he managed to restrain himself.

"Zero… we need to talk about… about what just happened." Stanley murmured urgently in Zero's ear. He felt rather than saw Zero nod quickly in response, his curls grazing against Stanley's ear and cheek before Stanley let go of his wrist and Zero moved back, hastily putting as much distance between the two of them as one step would allow.

The look on Zero's face damn near broke Stanley's heart right there and then. Never had he seen Zero's features so expressive, but the fear, nervousness and shame was only all too readable, written heavily all over his suddenly ashen face. Zero couldn't even bring himself to look Stanley in the eye, and that was enough to make Stanley feel every bit as scared, nervous and ashamed as Zero felt.

The warmth was gone now, replaced with nothing but ice in the pit of his stomach that was almost painful.

Zero kept his dark chocolate eyes fixed solely on his own shoes as he turned away from Stanley and made his way back to his own bed, throwing himself down onto the thin mattress and turning over to face the wall of the tent instead of the boys behind him.

Stanley didn't _want_ to talk about it, but he knew they had to. It was the only way to stop his brain from whirling and clear everything up for him.

One thing was for absolutely certain, though.

Stanley knew he wanted Zero to kiss him like that again.

* * *

The next day, out on the lakebed, Zero was helping Stanley dig his hole as usual, but there was a definite awkward silence that had fallen over the two of them as they worked, neither wanting to bring up the subject of the previous evening. They hadn't actually said a single word to each other since then. Stanley had tried several times, and so had Zero, but they'd both just blushed instead and turned away from each other again.

How exactly was someone supposed to approach a topic like this? Stanley had absolutely no idea. He'd never dealt with anything like this before.

He'd never kissed a boy before.

Hell, he'd never kissed _anyone_ before. At school, he'd been constantly bullied, and he'd never really had much attention from any of the girls. Come to think of it, he'd never really wanted any attention from the girls, but it wasn't because he was attracted to _boys_, rather because he just didn't find anyone attractive in that way. Until Zero, of course. Zero's attractiveness had hit Stanley like a punch to the gut, and even now, as he looked over at the smaller boy digging with his back to him, he couldn't deny that he wanted nothing more than to drag Zero around to face him and kiss those wondrous lips of his until they both stopped breathing.

It scared him, it really did. How much of an effect Zero had on him was seriously starting to freak Stanley out. They needed to get to the bottom of this, whatever 'this' was, and it was now or never.

Stanley took a deep breath and stopped digging, jabbing his shovel down into the dirt in front of him and leaning on it slightly for support.

"Zero?" He started hesitantly. Zero jumped a little at the unexpected sound of Stanley's voice and squared his shoulders, his shovel pausing in midair for a moment before he lowered it slowly, turning around to face Stanley with obvious reluctance, having guessed what Stanley was about to say. Stanley squinted into the darker boy's sweat-slicked face from beneath his dusty red baseball cap, noticing that Zero's own hat was hanging around his neck again.

"We need to talk, man." Stanley sighed heavily. Zero's hands clenched tightly around the wooden shaft of his shovel, his knuckles turning pearly white as he bit his bottom lip nervously.

"Do we have to?" Zero replied, a tiny amount of desperation in his tone as he glanced around quickly, his eyes darting over to the other boys of D tent, making sure they were far enough away that they wouldn't overhear them. Stanley had already checked for himself that X-ray and the rest of them were a safe distance away before he'd even thought about starting this conversation. The last thing he and Zero needed was the rest of D tent knowing their personal business.

"You know we do, Zero. What… what happened back there? Why did you k-kiss me?" Stanley stuttered slightly on the word 'kiss', unintentionally remembering just how good it felt having Zero's mouth on his, and Zero's hands clutching onto his shoulders, and Zero's legs straddling his thighs in an attempt to get as close as he possibly could. Stanley couldn't repress the responding pleasant shudder that trailed down the length of his spine.

Zero must've mistaken Stanley's shiver for one of disgust and dropped his head sadly, gazing down at the dirt at Stanley's feet rather than meeting his eyes. Stanley saw the springy-haired boy's throat work as he swallowed harshly, his face half-hidden by the shade cast by his corkscrew curls.

"I'm sorry." Zero murmured dejectedly.

"No, no, I don't want you to apologise," Stanley told him quickly, hastening to reassure him, "I just want to know why you did it, is all."

Stanley was surprised by how calm his voice sounded, considering how his stomach was jumbled up into tight anxious knots and his palms were damp with sweat that had nothing to do with the temperature. He hadn't felt this nervous in his entire life, but he was doing a damn good job of covering it up for Zero's sake.

Zero glanced up at him briefly through his thick dark eyelashes, his cheeks dusted pink with embarrassment and shame and his chocolate eyes swirling with apprehension. That made Stanley's heart sink a little. Zero was scared of how Stanley would react, and if they'd still remain friends despite what had happened between them. He had nothing to be afraid of, since there was no way on this earth that Stanley was about to break his friendship with Hector Zeroni.

"I don't know… how to explain it." Zero began slowly, as though he was trying to choose his words carefully. Stanley gently urged him to keep going with a small encouraging smile. "The first time I met you, I knew… I felt… there was something about you. Something different. And when I see you, I get this… _feeling_… right here."

Zero let go of his shovel with one hand, and splayed his now free hand across his flat stomach, staring down at it in almost fond confusion.

"A warm feeling. Like my stomach's burning from the inside, y'know? But not in a bad way. It's… _nice_."

Stanley felt like his brain had just come to an abrupt shuddering halt, his mind going completely blank for a moment at what Zero had just said.

The heat in his abdomen! It wasn't just him; Zero felt it too! That had to mean something, surely! But what, exactly? Was it just physical attraction, or was it something else?

"I can only feel it around you, Stanley." Zero said seriously, gaining a little bit more courage the more he spoke. Stanley must've been staring at him wide-eyed and open-mouthed, but that didn't seem to put the younger boy off. "I didn't know what it was at first, but then I… I realised that I didn't just see you as a friend, and… I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how! I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you for days, but I just… couldn't."

Stanley's hands were trembling where they rested on his shovel, his heart pounding furiously against his ribs. God, he was thick. He was so thick! Zero had figured out this heated feeling in his stomach practically on the first day they'd met, and Stanley hadn't had a clue what the damn thing was until, what? Yesterday? Zero might not know how to read or write, but that didn't stop him from being one hell of a smart kid. He was way smarter than Stanley, that's for sure. Zero had more common sense.

"So… when you kissed me…" Stanley started slowly, furrowing his brow as all the pieces finally came together in his head. He was attracted to Zero. Maybe even _more_ than just attracted to him, but way too early on to be thinking about that.

"It was an accident, I didn't mean to – "

"I liked it." Stanley admitted quietly, interrupting Zero as he tried to explain his actions. Zero's eyes widened almost comically, the twin chocolate pools deeper and darker than ever in pure shock.

"You…?"

"Yeah. I liked it. A lot." Stanley repeated, and Zero sucked in a surprised breath between his teeth. Stanley glanced over at the smaller boy out of the corner of his eye shyly, his cheeks turning pink from confessing that fact out loud for the very first time. Zero looked very much like the shovel he was leaning on was the only thing keeping him standing upright at that moment.

"And… I think we should do it again."

Stanley was surprised at how direct he was being, and also how easily the words left his mouth before he'd even thought about speaking them. He was telling the truth though. Stanley had enjoyed every single second of that kiss, and would literally do anything to kiss Zero again in the exact same way. They both felt the same, Stanley knew, so why not? It was painfully obvious that they both wanted to do it again.

Zero seemed to be completely lost for words, blinking at Stanley owlishly as though the taller boy had lost his mind. He hadn't expected that at all. Stanley guessed that after what had happened yesterday, Zero had got it into his head that Stanley was totally disgusted that he'd dared to kiss him. Zero must've overlooked the fact that Stanley had kissed him back just as hard after the initial surprise mouth-to-mouth contact.

"O-ok." Zero agreed somewhat dazedly, hardly daring to believe that what Stanley had suggested could really be true. Heat spread instantly through Stanley's stomach, and now that he knew what it was, he savoured the feeling, knowing that it was shared by the gorgeous dark-skinned boy standing in front of him.

Stanley smiled happily at Zero and after a moment Zero came back to his senses and beamed widely back at him, his white teeth shining in the bright sunlight and those adorable dimples crinkling his cheeks again. Unable to resist, Stanley leaned over to him, pretending that he was moving to start digging again, but instead he brushed his lips lightly over the soft caramel skin of Zero's cheek in a sweet affectionate peck that made the smaller boy gasp softly in surprise. Stanley chuckled as he drew back, knowing that none of the others had witnessed the tiny kiss but feeling a small thrill of fear and excitement at the thought of if they had.

Zero's blushed bright pink again and smiled at him, his eyes sparkling with so much joy that literally sent Stanley's own happiness soaring to heights he never thought he would reach.

This was just the beginning, Stanley realised as they returned to digging his hole, this time in comfortable silence and with matching grins on their faces whenever they caught each other's eye.

Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni.

Yeah, this was definitely just the beginning.

* * *

**You like? I hope so haha the kiss scene was the very first thing I wrote for this fic ^^ **

**Anywhoo, this isnt going to just rush straight in with the relationship, if anyone's wondering, since next scene is the fight scene and then where Zero runs away, so there's gonna be a bit more realisation on Stanley's part. :D**

**Ok then, reviews? They would make me a very happy bunny ^^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Heya everyone, sorry its been while, but I've been on holiday and had all my exams at college and been so busy it's actually unreal. And as usual for me, when I take a break from writing a story, it's kinda hard for me to get back into it easily, so if this isn't up to it's usual standard, I'm apologising in advance. :D**

**Holy crap, I just realised I forgot to thank my reviewers last chapter! O.O Ok, I want to say thank you who reviewed or added this to your faves/alerts in chapter 3 haha: xXSadistic BarbieXx, xxjadedxnowxx, Sammykinz, poxmaker, Dark Seductress 14, lifesong, DaniMag-san, Spunker325 and Stop Staring At Me. THANK YOU! :D**

**And here's the thanks for people who reviewed/faved/alerted chapter 4: xXSadistic BarbieXx, Stop Staring At Me, lifesong, DaniMagsan, Freedom's Call, SCRIBBLERild, John Faina (OMG seriously, the KING of Stanley/Zero slash reviewed _my_ story? I'm honoured, I seriously am :) ), Ammy14k, .Rainbows, ZombieMops, Blackdragon1292 and LightXL_Ment2B! THANK YOU TOO! :D**

**Okay then, onwards with the chapter :D First half's mostly movie again, but it gets more original for the second half. Read on and review for me, thank you!**

* * *

Chapter 5:

"Let's go, boys! Lunch!" Dr Pendanski called from where he stood beside the food truck he'd just driven up in and parked alongside their holes. All at once the boys of D tent seemed to discover the tiniest amount of energy they needed to drag themselves up out of their holes and make their way over to the truck for something to eat in their welcomed break from digging.

Zero and Stanley were the last ones the climb out, both of them still working away in Stanley's gradually deepening hole. They'd spent the last twenty or so minutes digging side by side in companionable silence, occasionally smiling or blushing whenever they happened to glance at each other and found the other already glancing straight back at them. It was nice, Stanley decided. He felt like he'd had a giant weight lifted off his shoulders that he hadn't even known was there, and no matter how much his back hurt, or how much his muscles ached, or how many blisters erupted all over his hands, he couldn't feel anything but pure happiness.

Armpit and Squid passed by Stanley's hole, and Armpit sneered down at them.

"Where's your whip, Caveman? Don't want your slave to be slacking off." He said snidely, the look of pure disdain on his dusty sweat-slicked face speaking volumes. Zero squared his shoulders at the sound of Armpit's voice, but he said nothing as he upended another shovelful of dirt, pointedly keeping his back to the larger dark-skinned boy. Stanley squinted up at Armpit from beneath the rim of his battered red baseball cap, the harsh sunlight glaring down into his face and eyes, half-blinding him for a second.

"It's not slavery, it's an agreement." Stanley pointed out irritably, his good mood souring for a moment. He was getting seriously fed up of the other boys treating him like crap just because Zero was helping him dig his holes. They knew it was in exchange for his reading lessons, so why the hell were they still so annoyed about it? Maybe they were just jealous that they hadn't thought of it first. Well, tough luck to them.

"Yeah, man, whatever." Armpit replied dismissively, turning away and following the others to the queue for the food truck. Squid stayed behind for a few seconds longer, staring down at Stanley and Zero with an expression of anger and perhaps a bit of… disappointment? What was that all about? But Stanley didn't have the chance to consider it because Squid had already turned his back on them, heading after Armpit.

Stanley waited until the other boys of D tent were closer to the truck before he put down his shovel and gently placed his palm on Zero's thin shoulder, smiling when the springy-haired boy glanced back at him, his rich chocolate-coloured eyes practically sparkling in the sunlight. Zero flashed him a responding smile, his wide white grin looking almost too big for his pointed face as he put down his own shovel and climbed up out of the hole with Stanley to take their places at the back of the queue.

"Line 'em up, I don't have all day! Let's go, let's go!" Pendanski called, clapping his hands impatiently together as the boys sluggishly approached, all wearing a thick layer of dust and sweat on their skin and overalls, and their eyes narrowed against the vicious glare of the sun. "We have baloney and cheese, apples and graham crackers!"

Pendanski gestured to each of the foods he'd mentioned in turn, standing aside and watching as X-ray grabbed what he wanted to eat, followed by Armpit, then Squid, and then Zigzag.

"Alright, lets move it along. Get your sandwich. Hello, Theodore!" Pendanski beamed when Armpit walked by him.

"That's not my name, fool, it's Armpit." Armpit muttered, brushing past him with his arms full of food. Pendanski smiled to himself, knowing just how to get under the larger boy's skin, then returned his attention to the boys still in line.

"Alan, good day to you."

"Good afternoon." Squid grinned as he passed Pendanski, tipping his hat to him with one hand whilst in the other hand he clutched at least ten graham crackers, hiding them from the counsellor behind his back.

"Ricky." Pendanski greeted Zigzag, who nodded in return, following after Squid.

"Sir."

Stanley leaned around Magnet to take an apple from the truck and then set off back to his hole. He didn't like baloney and cheese, and he didn't really want any graham crackers so an apple was really the only food choice he had. Stanley didn't mind though, since an apple was enough to keep him going until they got back to the Mess Hall after they'd finished with their holes for the day. Not that the vile lumpy stew they served back at Camp was really anything to look forward to, but out here beggars can't be choosers.

Stanley took a bite out of his apple as he stood by his hole, but suddenly a jolt of pain shot through his shoulder and he jerked sideways, X-ray having just roughly bumped into him on purpose as he went past. Righting himself, Stanley glared after him, but he knew that there was no point saying anything, so instead he just settled himself down, sitting on the dirt pile beside his hole as he started slowly chomping his way through the fruit in his hand.

Zero was watching him from where he was still stood by the food truck, next to Magnet who was arguing with Pendanski about extra sandwiches in what sounded to be his native Mexican tongue. Zero easily ignored them, since ignoring people came practically second nature to him, his brow furrowing into a frown as he watched X-ray push past Stanley. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously in X-ray's direction before he tore his gaze away and leaned over to grab an apple for himself, standing on tiptoes and stretching his skinny body out to reach it.

Squid took a few extra quick steps to catch up with Zigzag on their way back to their holes.

"Hey, man. I got some extra graham crackers." Squid grinned, holding up his stash of crackers so Zigzag could see. With a responding smirk, Zigzag grabbed about half of Squid's handful before he strode over to Stanley with a nasty glint in his crazy blue eyes.

"Hey!" Zigzag called, kicking Stanley's foot to get his attention. Stanley jumped slightly and then lifted his head to squint questioningly up at the lanky blond-haired boy, ignoring the dull pain from where Zigzag's boot had struck his ankle. "How about I give you my cookie, and you let me dig your hole."

A surge of irritation rose up in Stanley's chest as Zigzag grinned mockingly down at him. He knew something like this had been bound to happen sooner or later. There hadn't been a doubt in his mind that one of the D tent boys would confront him about his and Zero's arrangement, and to be honest, Stanley had expected it to be X-ray more than anyone else, since he was the self-proclaimed leader of the group. But then again, out of everyone in D tent, Stanley got the feeling that Zigzag disliked him the most.

So instead of answering, Stanley just looked back down at his apple and took another large bite, hoping that if he ignored Zigzag, then the taller boy would get bored and leave him alone. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

Everyone had returned to their holes by now and were all watching eagerly, undoubtedly waiting for the fight to begin as they ate their lunches. Zero dropped down into his own hole with an apple in one fist and a baloney and cheese sandwich in the other, his dark eyes fixed almost unblinkingly on Stanley, his expression unreadable apart from the slight furrowing of his brow beneath his dusty corkscrew curls.

"C'mon, take it." Zigzag said, crouching down in front of Stanley and waving a graham cracker under his nose. Stanley glared up in annoyance, leaning back a little away from him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of X-ray waving the other D tent boys closer for a better view, and if anything, that just made Stanley even more annoyed. When were they going to give him a goddamn _break?_

"Look, I get it, alright?" Stanley said, "I'll dig my own hole from now on. Let me eat my lunch."

Zigzag straightened up and laughed, not realising that Pendanski had noticed what was going on and had left the food truck, walking purposefully over to them.

"He isn't gonna take it." Zigzag grinned over Stanley's head to the others, then he crouched down again, balancing easily on the balls of his feet and resting his elbows on his knees.

"C'mere. Eat the cookie."

Without warning, Zigzag shoved the cracker roughly into Stanley's face, trying to force it into his mouth. Stanley swiped his hand away and he heard the D tent boys laugh behind him as he glared venomously up at Zigzag, but he didn't have the chance to say anything to him, because Zigzag reached out again and pushed him hard with one hand. Stanley fell back a little, his half-eaten apple dropping from his hand and rolling away before he surged up to his feet, shoving Zigzag away from him with unexpected strength and courage. Stanley Yelnats was so _sick_ of being pushed around by everyone. He'd been bullied back at school, and now he'd be damned if he was going to take any of this kind of shit from these guys here too. It was about time for him to grow a backbone and stand up for himself for a change.

"Back off, man." Stanley growled, aiming for threatening but it didn't really work that well through a mouthful of apple. Zigzag pushed Stanley again, harder this time, sending Stanley staggering back down into the dust.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on here?" Pendanski demanded, coming up beside Zigzag as the blond boy stared down at Stanley with a cruel smirk twisting his mouth. Stanley harshly swallowed his mouthful of apple and pulled himself to his feet, feeling rather than seeing Zero's eyes on him. He was used to it by now, after all, and he could just instinctively guess when Zero locked his gaze on him. It was like a sixth sense, practically.

"Nothing, Mom. We was just fooling, right?" Squid said to Pendanski, stepping up beside Zigzag seemingly from nowhere, his sandwich and crackers still in hand. Stanley kept on glaring at Zigzag and Zigzag's smirk widened slightly.

"I saw what was going on." Pendanski replied to Squid, then turned his attention to Stanley. "Go on, Stanley, teach him a lesson. Hit him back."

Stanley's glare turned into a wide-eyed gape as he tore his eyes from Zigzag and instead fixed them on Pendanski in shock. What the –? The councillor actually _wanted_ them to fight? Shouldn't he be trying to _prevent_ it? Stanley had fully hoped that Pendanski would break this up and send them straight back to their holes, but as usual, the Yelnats family curse decided to raise it's ugly head again and royally screw up Stanley's life a little bit more.

"Teach me a lesson." Zigzag grinned at Stanley as Squid put up his hands in surrender and moved back out of the way, smiling in anticipation as he retreated from the line of fire.

"Yeah, Stanley, teach him a lesson!" One of the other boys called, followed by a few more, all of them obviously trying to spur on a brawl between Stanley and Zigzag. And Stanley was seriously considering going along with one right now. He wanted to knock that stupid grin straight off Zigzag's face.

Zigzag pushed Stanley again.

"Go on, hit me. Go on." Zigzag urged, still grinning.

"Hit him!"

"C'mon, teach me a lesson!"

"Hit him, Stanley!"

Zigzag made to shove him again, but this time Stanley twisted his arms up and over Zigzag's, forcing them aside before he reached out and slapped the taller boy across the face in retaliation. Ok, yes, it was probably one of the most pathetic girly slaps in the entire world, but it definitely did the trick, for no sooner had Stanley's hand made contact with Zigzag's cheek, the blond's smile completely disappeared and he launched himself at Stanley, throwing his arms around his legs and tackling him to the floor.

Stanley's spine slammed against the hard earth when he and Zigzag crashed to the ground, Zigzag landing heavily on top of him, causing Stanley to groan in pain beneath the other boy's weight. Suddenly, Zigzag reared back a little, giving himself enough room to swing his arm forwards and drive his clenched fist straight into Stanley ribs twice. Stanley's chest burned with pain but he forced himself to roll over, sending them both crashing down into his hole, his battered red hat falling off his head in the process and thick streams of dust flying up into the air, practically suffocating Stanley as he unintentionally inhaled most of it.

He tried to scramble out of the hole, away from Zigzag, but the taller boy grabbed him from behind and yanked him back. Instinctively, Stanley swung back his arm and elbowed Zigzag hard straight in the stomach, winding him for a moment, giving Stanley the opportunity to make his escape.

Behind them, Zero pulled himself quickly out of his own hole, his intense burning gaze never leaving Stanley and Zigzag.

With a grunt of pain, Zigzag clutched at his stomach for a second before he lunged after Stanley, punching him solidly around the face when the darker-haired boy made the mistake of looking around briefly to check if Zigzag was still coming after him. The side of his head all but exploded in agony and he was sent sprawling facedown in the dust, lying there dazedly as Zigzag stood over him with his hands still balled up into tight fists, ready to throw his next punch.

But luckily for Stanley, he never received that next punch, because someone had finally decided to come to his rescue.

With a furious roar, Zero came running up behind Zigzag at full pelt and jumped up onto his back, locking his skinny legs securely around his waist and wrapping an arm around the taller boy's throat, pulling it even tighter with his other hand. Zigzag started to gag.

"That's enough!" Pendanski shouted. Zero didn't loosen his grip the slightest, instead pressing his forearm into Zigzag's windpipe even harder, grunting from the effort of it as he gradually choked him with his arm. Gasping for air, Zigzag fell to his knees, Zero still clinging onto his back. The rest of D tent were watching with identical expressions of shock and fear now, as were some of the boys from other tents who had come over and were peering around the back of the food truck. Things had gotten completely out of hand now, and it didn't look like Zero was about to let go anytime soon. Not until Zigzag stopped breathing altogether.

"I said that's enough!" Pendanski yelled, but was once again ignored. "That's enough!"

Zigzag fell back a little more, and Zero unhooked his legs from around his waist so he could land on his feet behind the taller boy, still strangling him. The blond struggled weakly to the side but Zero yanked him back straight again, his face scrunched up in exertion and his teeth gritted in anger as he pulled so hard that he toppled over backwards, taking the gagging Zigzag with him.

"Hey, stop, Zero! Hey, stop, man, he can't breathe!" Armpit shouted as he and the others gathered around helplessly. Zigzag's hands were gripping onto Zero's arm, vainly attempting to pull the smaller boy off of him, but Zero just pulled harder. Zigzag's lips started to turn blue, his eyes sliding shut.

"Zero, let him go!"

Armpit was down on the ground beside them in an instant, trying furiously to break Zero's chokehold, but no matter what he did, Zero just refused to let go. X-ray was just reaching over to help when the sound of a gunshot ripped through the air and everyone jumped a mile, Zero abruptly releasing Zigzag in his surprise.

"Now I said that's enough!" Pendanski bellowed, the expression on his face absolutely livid with rage, pointing a smoking shotgun skywards that he'd obviously just retrieved from his truck. "When I say to end something, I mean end it!"

Zero got to his feet, his dark chocolate eyes still blazing with anger as he breathed harshly, his thin chest rising and falling rapidly as he made sure to put a safe amount of distance between himself and the rest of D tent, who were now moving to help Zigzag back onto his own feet.

"Get back to your holes!"

Stanley's hand wearily massaged the side of his face that was starting to swell slightly as he pulled himself up onto his hands and knees from where he'd been laid, watching in wide-eyed disbelief at Zero's uncharacteristically powerful loss of control. He'd wondered when all that anger Zero had been storing up would get the better of him, but Stanley seriously hadn't expected him to react like that. It'd almost been... scary, in a way. But even then, Stanley couldn't help happy feeling that spread through his chest just with the knowledge that Zero had attacked Zigzag in the intention of protecting Stanley from him.

A small dark hand suddenly came into Stanley's line of sight and he glanced up to see Zero crouching down in front of him, his chocolate eyes rich and warm beneath his mass of springy black curls.

"C'mon Stanley. Let's go." Zero said. Stanley gratefully took the smaller boy's offered hand and staggered to his feet with Zero's help, wrapping his arm around Zero's skinny waist to keep himself upright. Zero's arm found Stanley's own waist as they began to walk away, putting enough distance between them and the rest of D tent.

"You alright?" Zero asked softly, biting his bottom lip worriedly. Stanley nodded in response, his head pounding so hard that he half expected it to explode any second now, but even through the haze of pain, he could still feel the comforting warmth of Zero's palm flat against the small of his back as they walked.

Behind them, Squid offered his hand to Zigzag and pulled the blond-haired boy to his feet, handing him his canteen as he massaged his aching throat.

"Zero's crazy, man!" Armpit announced, causing Zero to turn his head sharply towards them and give them the fiercest warning glare he could manage, his previously warm eyes instantly hardening like ice. The D tent boys returned to their work, shaking their heads and muttering to each other as one by one they jumped back down into their unfinished holes and picked up their abandoned shovels again.

Unseen by the others, Zero tilted his head slightly to press his lips gently against Stanley's shoulder and Stanley looked down at him with a small appreciative smile, not minding at all as he let himself drown in those gorgeous twin pools of rich chocolate brown staring back up at him. Unable to help himself, Stanley slipped his hand discretely down his side to reach Zero's, entwining their fingers loosely together.

Sure, it was increasing the danger of them being caught like this, but the responding pretty blush and shy smile that spread across Zero's features made the risk worth every damn second.

* * *

Stanley should've guessed that something like that pointless fight would result in the Warden being called out onto the lakebed to sort it out. Well, not that it needed sorting out now, of course, but Dr Pendanski must've radioed for her on his walkie talkie when he'd gone to get his shotgun, because less than ten minutes after the fight had been broken up, the Warden pulled up beside their holes in her flashy white car and demanded to know what was going on, shortly followed by Mr Sir.

"Basically, Zero almost killed Ricky!" Pendanski exclaimed, his nose looking about twice as big as usual due to the amount of suncream he'd covered it with. He was standing in front of the boys of D tent who were lined up before their holes, the Warden standing opposite them with a scowl on her face. Stanley and Zero were beside her, separate from the others by the food truck, Zero with his hands dug deep into the front pockets of his dusty orange overalls and Stanley with his hands clasped tightly behind his back.

"Basically." The Warden repeated sceptically.

"Uh, Ziggy was beating up the Caveman, right? And then Zero started choking Zigzag. I had to pull Zero off of him." Armpit explained. The Warden walked over to him with her hands on her hips, her eyes shaded behind her dark sunglasses.

"Yeah, I mean, y'know, Zig just got a little hot." X-ray added, shrugging as the Warden turned her attention to him and moved in his direction. "Out in the sun all day, the blood starts to boil."

"Is that what happened, Zigzag?" The Warden demanded, striding over to the blond boy where he stood with his shovel resting against his shoulder, leaning on it slightly. Zigzag glanced over at Stanley and Zero, his blue eyes narrowed.

"Yeah." Zigzag replied sullenly. Zero turned his head to look up at Stanley for a moment and Stanley noticed that the smaller boy's expression was the tiniest bit hopeful. Maybe he thought that they weren't going to get in trouble after all. But Stanley wasn't so sure. He chewed on his bottom lip as he squinted over at Zigzag, a nasty knowing feeling in the back of his mind telling him that Zigzag would sooner die than take the fall for them.

"Like X-ray said, y'know, working all day out in the hot sun... and Caveman sits around and does nothing." Zigzag finished, gesturing over to Stanley with his free hand. Stanley's heart just about plummeted straight down to his feet.

"Excuse me? Caveman digs his hole just like everyone else."

Zigzag hesitated for a second, just for effect. He was loving this, that much was obvious. Stanley's dislike for the other boy climbed a little higher, and it wasn't only because the side of his face was still throbbing painfully.

"Sometimes."

"_Excuse me_." The Warden sounded really annoyed now, so Squid stepped in to explain. He was always quick to back Zigzag up, Stanley noticed, and that made his heart sink even lower. None of the others ever backed Stanley up when he needed them. Zero was the only one. But then again, it was the same the other way around for Zero, since Stanley was the only D tent boy who backed _him_ up.

"Ma'am." Squid took his trademark toothpick out of the corner of his mouth as the Warden turned to him instead. "Zero's been digging a part of Caveman's hole every day."

The Warden practically spun on her heel to look at Stanley, and he barely had chance to groan in resignation before Mr Sir was suddenly in his face, leaving literally less than an inch's gap between them. Stanley reared back in surprise, staggering a few steps away from the older man as Mr Sir moved threateningly towards him, putting himself between Stanley and Zero.

"You're not digging holes no more? Huh?" Mr Sir demanded angrily. Stanley glanced around nervously for a moment, never feeling so uncomfortable in his life. He could still see the nasty scratches from the Warden's rattlesnake nails marring the flesh of Mr Sir's cheek, and it reminded Stanley of just how much Mr Sir blamed him for that and how he'd undoubtedly be looking for any excuse to make Stanley's life hell out of vengeance.

"I-I'm… I'm teaching him how to read." Stanley admitted. Mr Sir's expression went from furious to incredulously surprised and confused faster than Stanley would've thought possible.

"_What?_" Mr Sir frowned in disbelief. Swiftly realising that trying to explain himself to Mr Sir would get him absolutely nowhere, Stanley turned his attention back to the Warden, desperate for her to understand. Her raised eyebrows visible above her dark sunglasses were more than enough to show her scepticism.

"He's a smart kid." Stanley told her in Zero's defence, but as soon as the words had left his mouth there was an unpleasant chuckle from behind him and Stanley turned to see the wide toothy grin that was spreading across Pendanski's slightly sunburnt features. This was one opportunity that Pendanski wasn't about pass up, especially not when it gave the councillor the chance to further humiliate and belittle the smallest boy of D tent more than usual.

"Smart? Oh yeah?" Pendanski scoffed nastily, still smirking in a way that made Stanley want to punch the irritating man straight on his overly suncreamed nose.

The councillor turned to Zero, who hadn't spoken a single word to anyone other than Stanley since the fight.

"Hey, Zero. What does C-A-T spell?"

Zero's eyes flickered up to meet Pendanski's stare, his dark eyes narrowed and rapidly losing the warmth that had previously swirled in the rich chocolate depths. Stanley watched as Zero's lips twitched slightly, mouthing the word to himself silently before he chose not to answer Pendanski aloud. Stanley knew that Zero had easily figured out the word but his hatred of the councillor and his stupid questions kept his mouth firmly shut.

Pendanski, however, didn't seem to realise this.

"Huh? What's it spell?" He pressed. Zero stayed as silent as ever and Pendanski looked back to Stanley, his eyebrows raised sardonically as though he'd just proven his point. "Yeah, he's a real genius. He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid!"

Zero bit his bottom lip and let his gaze drop back down to the dusty floor at his feet, his eyes shadowed by his hair when his corkscrew curls swung forwards, hanging down around his thin pointed face. Stanley's gut clenched in sympathy, and he was torn between the urge to hit Pendanski and the urge to comfort his best friend.

"Ok, from now on, I don't want _anyone_ digging anyone else's hole. Is that clear?" The Warden said in a tone that didn't permit any argument, addressing all of D tent and not just Stanley and Zero, just in case any of the others got the same idea. Zero looked up once more, still chewing his lip as he squinted against the sunlight. His caramel coloured skin was coated with dust, clean only in streaks where droplets of sweat had dripped down his face. From the corner of his eye, Stanley could see Zero clenching and unclenching his fists almost nervously, but then Stanley's attention was diverted when the Warden strode up in front of him and removed her sunglasses, glaring at him with cold light brown eyes.

"And no more reading lessons." She warned.

"Why? I mean, the hole gets dug, who cares who's digging it, right?" Stanley replied without thinking, looking questioningly from the Warden to Mr Sir and then back again. He regretted it a second later when the furious Mr Sir was back in his face once more.

"You know why you're digging holes?" Mr Sir shouted, "Because it's good for ya, teaches you a lesson!"

"If Zero digs your hole, you're not learning your lesson, are you?" The Warden added. Zero's eyes flickered downwards a little guiltily, his brow furrowing into a frown before he glanced up again. Probably because their so-called 'reason' made as little sense to him as it did to Stanley.

"Why can't I still just dig my hole and teach him how to read?" Stanley pressed, gesturing at Zero around the two adults blocking the view in front of him. The Warden took a step closer, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"'Cause I said so."

Stanley stared straight back at her, a small trickle of fear clawing its way up his spine that he absolutely refused to let show on his face. At that moment, his unreadable features could've rivalled Zero's own.

"We know you mean well, Stanley, but the mental stress just causes his brain too much of a challenge." Pendanski said, causing Stanley to break eye contact with the Warden and look over towards the councillor instead. He watched as Pendanski gestured broadly around Zero's springy-haired head and saw Zero turn his gaze slowly to the older man, the expression on his thin pointed face looking as though it'd been carved out of stone. But even then, Zero couldn't disguise the amount of loathing that was burning bright in his dark eyes, silently hating the man standing beside him. "That's what made his blood boil, not the hot sun."

Zero averted his eyes from him, instead twisting his head to fix his sights on the Warden and Mr Sir before he glanced briefly at Stanley almost questioningly. Stanley held both his arms up helplessly, his hands resting on his head in defeat. There was literally nothing they could do now.

Zero pulled at the strap of his canteen he'd retrieved from beside his hole not too long ago, holding it a little more securely against his shoulder.

"I'm not digging any more holes." Zero announced quietly. With a tiny sigh, Stanley let his arms swing lifelessly back down to his sides again, but then he suddenly caught sight of the expression on Zero's features. To anyone else, it would've seemed like nothing had changed, but to Stanley, the rigid set of the darker boy's chin and the determination creasing his brow told him that Hector Zeroni had definitely meant more than what he'd just said.

"Good." The Warden nodded, satisfied.

Stanley thought that that would be it now, and everything would be said and done and they could all get back to digging their holes, but Pendanski walked over to Zigzag and took the shovel from him before returning to Zero, his lips twisted into a cruel smirk.

"I mean, you might as well teach this shovel to read." Pendanski sneered, throwing the shovel to Zero. The boy caught it easily with one hand and glanced down at it in contemplation for a few seconds before he brought his hardened eyes back up to Pendanski's face. "Go ahead, Zero. Take it. It's all you'll ever be good for."

Stanley knew for a fact that it wasn't his imagination when he realised that Zero's eyes had darkened considerably, his expression morphing slowly from stony to something far more deadly, but unfortunately for the councillor, Pendanski was too busy jeering to notice.

Zero loosened the strap of his canteen and let it slide down his arm and drop to the floor as he turned to face Pendanski head on, his head tilted back defiantly on his neck as he glared up into the face of the man he hated the most.

"D-I-G. What's that spell?" Pendanski mocked, leaning forwards slightly with his hands resting on his thighs, smiling unkindly at the smallest boy of D tent. Zero hesitated for a second, looking to the side in a seemingly thoughtful way that immediately set warning bells ringing in the back of Stanley's mind without him knowing why. But he didn't have to wait long to find out.

Zero grit his teeth and grunted as he swung the shovel around with all the strength he had in his skinny arms. He smacked Pendanski so hard in the face with it that the metal blade made a horrific loud clanging noise and the councillor was spun around from the force of the blow, falling heavily to the dusty lakebed and laying there unconscious, spread eagled on his back with a rapidly swelling face that had already turned a nasty shade of purple.

The nearest boys of D tent had cried out in surprise and disbelief as Pendanski keeled over in the dust at their feet, stepping back before he could land on them. Mr Sir and the Warden jumped almost simultaneously, gaping in wide-mouthed shock from Pendanski sprawled out on the floor to Zero standing over him, still clutching the shovel in both hands.

Stanley felt like his jaw was literally resting on the dirt at his feet, completely lost for words as he stared dumbstruck at the smaller boy and the unconscious councillor. What the _hell_ had just happened? Did Zero really just –?

Before anyone could even think about saying or doing a single thing in response, Zero crouched down beside Pendanski, resting his hands and his shovel sideways across his knees for balance as he stared down at the councillor, his dusty corkscrew curls swaying across his face in the slight breeze.

"_Dig_." Zero said triumphantly, then he straightened up and set off running as fast as his legs could carry him, heading out onto the lakebed in the opposite direction of the Camp, weaving around holes with the shovel still in his grip as he darted for freedom. After the briefest of pauses, Mr Sir started after him, and that jerked Stanley's mind straight back into motion again.

"Go, Zero! Go! Run, Zero!" Stanley yelled delightedly after Zero's departing orange figure, willing the smaller boy on. In the rapidly increasing distance, Zero glanced back over his shoulder and flashed that wide white jack-o-lantern grin of his that never failed to make Stanley's heart stutter to a halt in his chest, but then the dark-skinned boy suddenly caught sight of Mr Sir running after him and Zero swiftly picked up speed.

Every pair of eyes followed Zero's escape with every face wearing matching expressions of dumbstruck incredulity, but Stanley didn't pay any attention to them, instead his chest clenching in fear when his hazel eyes suddenly landed on Mr Sir's hand as it strayed purposefully towards the gun hanging in its holster from his belt.

"Don't shoot!" The Warden shouted when Mr Sir drew his gun. The older man skidded to an abrupt halt in the dirt, turning back towards the red-haired woman in disbelief.

"You think I was gonna shoot him?" Mr Sir demanded as the Warden marched up to him, her hands placed angrily on her hips.

"That last thing we need is an investigation."

"Don't I know that? Misinterpretation. Let him go, then! Let him go!" Mr Sir cried, gesturing wildly after Zero with his gun before he shoved it roughly back into its holster. All the happiness that Stanley had felt a few moments ago had disappeared, completely overridden with the realisation that his best friend was running further and further away from him with each passing second. Stanley couldn't help but remember what Mr Sir had said to him when he'd first arrived at Camp Green Lake about them having the only source of water out here for a hundred miles.

Stanley pulled his battered red baseball cap off his head, sighing heavily as his gut tightened, a horrible cold feeling taking the place of the usual spread of heat that always surfaced whenever Zero was near, and Stanley didn't like it one bit.

"I want round-the-clock guards on all water sources!" The Warden ordered as she walked back over to Pendanski and picked up Zero's abandoned canteen from the ground beside him, unscrewing the top and carelessly pouring the entire contents onto Pendanski's bruised face, bringing him back to consciousness. The councillor twitched as he started to come round, and the Warden tossed away the empty canteen and started back towards her car.

She paused as she passed Stanley, who reluctantly tore his gaze away from the now tiny orange speck in the distance to meet her harsh icy stare.

"I still expect seven holes." The red-haired woman told him, her tone dangerous as she glared at him for a second longer before she turned away, continuing on with her long red plait whipping out behind her almost in an almost snakelike way as she walked.

Behind them, Pendanski drunkenly pulled himself up onto his knees, his face and shirt totally soaked through with water.

"I'll have… the chicken tenders… Warden…" He slurred, and then he fell straight back down on his face at Stanley's feet, causing the D tent boys to howl with laughter, even Stanley cracking a smile as he stepped back from the councillor drooling into the dirt. The Warden didn't even turn around to acknowledge him, wrenching open the car door and climbing inside, slamming it shut behind her.

Stanley lifted his head back up and stared out onto the lakebed once more with a heavy heart, all traces of a smile gone now, barely blinking as he watched Zero completely disappear from sight.

And just like that, Stanley was hit with the realisation of just how much it physically hurt him to watch Zero run away to his inevitable death out on the barren wasteland of what was once a lake.

But what hurt him even more was the fact that it was all Stanley's fault.

* * *

Stanley's entire body was aching and sore by the time he'd finished both his and Zero's holes and made his way back into the camp alone, as per usual being the last boy of D tent to return from the lakebed. Obviously it had taken him even longer today, since he was already so slow when it came to digging his own hole, but having to dig Zero's too on top of that meant that Stanley had kept on digging right through the hottest part of the day, and now felt as though the layer of sweat and grime that covered him wouldn't come off no matter how many showers he took. Combining all this physical pain with the emotional pain, and Stanley Yelnats literally felt like shit.

He dragged his feet through the dirt as he walked slowly towards D tent, his hazel eyes downcast and his red baseball cap and canteen clutched loosely in his right hand. He knew that the other boys would either be in the Wreck Room or the Mess Hall right now, so he was thankful that he'd be able to have some well-needed time alone just to think.

What he hadn't expected, though, was to hear voices coming from inside the tent that caused him to lurch to a halt outside, his free hand pausing in midair as he reached for the tent flap.

"I'm ill. I'm ill and I'm feeling queasy." Someone spoke in a deep rough voice that unmistakeably belonged to Mr Sir. "Take it or leave it."

"Still pouting?" The Warden retorted, sounding a little disdainful. Stanley let his hand drop back down to the side, tilting his head towards the murky grey fabric of the tent so he could listen in to their conversation.

"No, I'm not pouting. I'm just asking. Are we sure that he had no family?"

Stanley's heart squeezed painfully in his chest at that. _Zero_. Of course. Of course they were talking about Zero. In fact, he'd bet his life that they were in there emptying the smaller boy's stuff so they could have his bed ready for the next juvenile delinquent who came along to take his place. They didn't expect Zero to come back. They'd already cast the dark-skinned boy aside without a care in the world, and from the sound of it, all they gave a damn about was covering their own backs. Anger rose like bile in Stanley's throat, but he forced himself to keep it furiously in check.

"He was a ward of the state. He was living on the streets when he was arrested." Dr Pendanski answered harshly. No doubt he was pissed about being knocked unconscious by the boy who he'd thought to be worthless and stupid. How wrong he'd been.

"Is there some prissy caseworker who might ask questions?"

"He had nobody. He _was_ nobody."

"I want you to destroy his records. He was never here. Can you get into the state files from our computer?"

"I can do anything, but I'm telling you, no-one is going to come looking for him." Pendanski practically growled, his hatred for Zero evident in the tone of his voice. There were sounds of movement from inside the tent and the creaking of bedsprings like someone had just stood up after being sat on a mattress of one of the beds.

"No-one cares about Hector Zeroni."

That was the final straw for Stanley. He threw back the tent flap and stepped inside, coming face to face with Pendanski who'd obviously just been about to leave, glaring down at the smaller councillor with burning eyes, his jaw clenched so tight that it actually hurt. Stanley stood imposingly a good five inches over Pendanski, noticing with almost smug satisfaction that the councillor's face was still swollen and purple, with a large strip of white gauze across the bridge of his nose. Stanley was immensely proud of Zero for that.

"I do." Stanley told him quietly, those two words strong with so much conviction and sincerity that Pendanski could do little more than stare up at him in surprise, his grip slipping slightly on the wooden box he held in his arms. A brief glance downwards told Stanley that his suspicions were correct, and Zero's belongings had been packed away haphazardly into it.

Not one of the three adults facing him said a single word in response as Stanley glared at Pendanski once more, then at Mr Sir and the Warden before he moved over to his own bed and dumped his hat and canteen uncaringly down onto the mattress.

"They was in this thing together." Mr Sir muttered, frowning suspiciously as he looked over at the Warden and Pendanski. They glanced back at him for a second before Pendanski turned and left the tent without so much as a second's hesitation, and the Warden heaved a sigh and exited after him.

Mr Sir made to follow them, pausing beside Stanley's bed on his way.

"His blood's on your hands, then." Mr Sir murmured quietly, then continued on after his colleagues. Stanley stared after him with narrowed eyes, his vision blurring with tears that he was trying so hard to fight back, and he nodded slightly, watching as the tent flap fell back down to cover the doorway, leaving Stanley completely on his own again.

Almost reluctantly, Stanley turned his head and his eyes landed on the bed by the tent flap, the one that had previously belonged to his best friend Hector Zeroni. In his head, he could easily remember how Zero had looked all those times he'd been lounging there on the mattress with his hands resting behind his springy-haired head and his skinny legs crossed. Zero had kissed him on that bed, only yesterday. God, it seemed like it'd been years since he'd felt Zero's soft full lips beneath his and the wonderful warm weight of his slender body against him. The incredible happiness Stanley had felt less than twenty-four hours ago had now completely disappeared out of existence. There was an empty feeling in his stomach where the warmth had previously been, and despite the scorching hot temperature, all Stanley felt was cold.

He blinked once, his gaze never leaving Zero's bed as a single tear slid slowly down his cheek.

* * *

Stanley watched as Zero struggled to walk along the dried up lakebed, dragging his shovel along behind him. The smaller boy forced himself on as far as he could, but after a while he staggered to a stop and fell down onto his hands and knees, dropping the shovel onto the dirt beside him as he hung his head, his corkscrew curls sticking to his forehead with sweat.

Stanley squeezed his eyelids tightly shut to get rid of the image, but he just couldn't wipe the picture from his mind. It'd been all he could think about since he'd stood out on the lakebed alone earlier and shouted his best friend's name as loud as his vocal chords would allow. He was barely holding himself together right now.

"So what you in here for, Twitch?" X-ray's voice cut through Stanley's thoughts like a knife, and Stanley forced himself back to the present, which was sitting in the Mess Hall with the rest of D tent, eating their dinner with the newest member of their group: a small boy of about thirteen who'd already earned his nickname within seconds of being introduced to them.

"Oh, joyriding." Twitch laughed, his fingernails tapping absently but quickly on the tabletop beside his tray. "I guess I never really planned to steal one or nothing, but when I walk past a really nice car… ooh, I'd just start twitching, y'know? Oh, you think I'm jumpy now? You shoulda seen me behind the wheel of that Mustang convertible!"

The boy grinned as he visibly jittered in his chair, living up to his new name. Stanley stared at him sadly from where he sat opposite, not really seeing the newest boy of D tent in front of him. Zero's replacement. God, they'd replaced him already, and it'd barely been three days since he'd ran out onto the lakebed with nothing but his hat wrapped around his neck and his shovel in his hand. And the gaping empty feeling in the pit of Stanley's stomach seemed to be growing wider and deeper every day. He couldn't stand it for much longer. Stanley needed Zero. He'd do literally anything just for one more of the springy-haired boy's wide dimpled grins.

His eyes were wet again, but he refused to let any tears fall in front of any of D tent, so he rose abruptly from his seat as Twitch started asking how all the others had come to be at Camp Green Lake, something that Stanley himself hadn't even thought about asking them. And to be honest, he didn't really want to know either, so instead he walked away from the table, taking his untouched tray of food with him as he stalked over to the opposite end of the Mess Hall where he proceeded to sullenly clean up his tray.

Stanley turned away fully intending to leave the Mess Hall and spend whatever was left of his break back on his own in D tent, but apparently someone else had other ideas.

"C'mere." A voice growled dangerously close to Stanley's ear as a large hand seized hold of him by the collar of his dusty orange jumpsuit and Stanley found himself being dragged roughly into the corner, out of sight and hearing range of everyone else in the Mess Hall before he could even think about reacting. He just prayed with every fibre of his being that he wasn't about to be challenged to a second round with that huge guy in the armchair he'd fallen on during his first couple of weeks here. Even with the Yelnats family curse, there was _no way_ his luck could be that bad.

Stanley was thrown forcefully against the wall, his back making a dull thudding sound when it came into swift contact with the solid surface and he looked up to see two dark brown eyes glaring fiercely back at him from the dusty scowling face of Squid.

"What the –" Stanley started to say, but Squid cut across him.

"He kissed you, didn't he?"

Stanley froze instantly in place, his spine straightening so abruptly that he almost gave himself whiplash. Of all the things he had expected Squid to ask, that had been the absolute last one on the list. He felt practically all the blood leave his face as he stared at the slightly taller boy, his hazel eyes wide with shock and disbelief, and it took every single drop of effort he had in his body to stop his mouth from dropping open in astonishment.

"What?" He somehow managed to choke out, his voice sounding hoarse even to his own ears. Squid's scowl lessened slightly and the corners of his lips began to quirk upwards into a tiny knowing smirk.

"Zero." Squid said, and Stanley's heart plummeted with the realisation that they had been discovered at the same time as the coldness in his stomach flared unbearably with just the mention of his missing best friend's name. "He kissed you, didn't he?"

Trying not to panic, Stanley turned his head to the side to avoid Squid's gaze so the other boy couldn't see the clear truth in his eyes.

"I don't know what you're –"

"Cut the crap, Caveman, you know exactly what I'm talking about." Squid interrupted him once more, practically growling the words at him this time. He was scowling again, his brow furrowing beneath the peak of his own dusty baseball cap. "I've got eyes, y'know, so don't think I haven't noticed."

"Noticed?" Stanley repeated nervously. Oh God, they hadn't been that obvious, had they? He didn't think they had, but they must've, if Squid knew about it. And Stanley couldn't yet tell by the look on the other boy's face if he was disgusted by it or not. If anything, he just seemed to be amused by Stanley's discomfort and annoyed at his pathetic attempt at playing dumb.

"Yeah. The way Zero looks at you, for a start. And the way he acts around you, not to mention the fact that you're the only one in the whole camp he talks to. Kid might not have much to say, but he ain't all that subtle. I could tell his little crush on you a mile off, Caveman."

Stanley just stared at him, stunned. There wasn't really much he could say in reply to that, but at least now he knew that Zero was the one who'd been the most obvious. Except to Stanley himself, of course, since Stanley had been completely unaware that the smaller dark-skinned boy had felt that way about him until that surprise kiss back in the tent during their reading lesson.

Squid's expression was smug now, Stanley's shocked features blatantly answering his question without Stanley having to say a single thing. But apparently he still wanted to hear Stanley admit it out loud.

"So, he kissed you, right?"

Stanley sighed to himself. There was no point denying it now.

"Y-yes, he did." He stammered a little, and if possible, Squid's face just grew even more smug in response, which only served to make Stanley flush bright red with embarrassment. He really didn't want to be having this conversation right now, especially with Squid of all people. Well, it could've been worse, Stanley supposed. At least it wasn't any of the others.

"I knew it. When?"

"The day before he…" Stanley trailed off before he could finish that sentence and quickly changed it to one that didn't hurt so much. "The day before the fight."

If Squid noticed his brief pause and alteration, he said nothing of it, but his features did soften slightly for a second. Suddenly, he sighed heavily and reached up with one hand, pulling his baseball cap off his head and brushing a hand back through his thick dark hair.

"Look, I know we were all dicks to you before, what with Zero digging your hole and all, but I want you to know that my reason for that wasn't the same as the other guys', alright?" Squid said, his voice low and the tiniest bit apologetic. Stanley blinked at him owlishly, confused beyond belief.

"What d'you mean?" He asked.

"They were just pissed because Zero was helping you dig, but I was pissed because I thought you were using him, y'know, playing on his crush on you to make him do your work for you." Squid explained. A surge of white-hot rage rose up in Stanley's chest, filling him with so much anger so swiftly that Squid immediately caught sight of the furious expression on his face and took a wise step back. How _dare_ he even _think_ that Stanley would do something like that to Zero?

"I would _never_ do that to Zero!" Stanley hissed a little louder than he'd meant to, causing Squid to glance quickly around to make sure nobody had overheard. The usual din of the delinquents in the Mess Hall went on uninterrupted, so Squid returned his eyes to Stanley. He didn't look scared at being faced with Stanley's anger at that moment, but then again, Stanley had hardly expected him to, since Squid wouldn't be in Camp Green Lake at all if he turned into a quivering mess whenever someone shouted at him. If anything, the other dark-haired boy seemed to be somewhat satisfied with Stanley's outburst, as though it had confirmed the answer he'd been expecting.

"I know, I know, I can see that now. It's obvious you care about him, man." Squid replied, and Stanley's anger deflated a little. He almost wished it hadn't in a way, because now the burning rush of fury was receding, that horrible cold empty feeling was coming back.

They were both silent for a moment, Stanley keeping his gaze almost unblinkingly on the floor as he waited until he had calmed down enough to look back up into Squid's face. The taller boy was already staring straight back at him, his head tilted to one side with his dark eyebrows raised, seemingly contemplating something.

"So what're you going to do?" He asked after a few more seconds of quiet. Stanley's hazel eyes flickered once before they hardened with resolution and determination. He'd been asking himself that question for the past three days, and even though the answer had come to him almost instantly, Stanley still hadn't had the chance to act upon it. But there was no time for him to be waiting around for the right opportunity, because three days was long enough for someone to be lost out on that barren wasteland of a dried up riverbed with no food, water or shelter. The longer he waited, the less likely it was that Zero would return to Camp Green Lake alive. It was now or never, really, and he had to go out there and find his springy-haired best friend before it was too late.

"I'm going after him."

"When?"

"The first chance I get."

Squid's smirk slowly returned, spreading widely across his face as he slouched sideways, leaning against the wall beside him casually as he aimed his knowing gaze in Stanley's direction.

"Well… I think maybe today's the day you get your chance, Caveman." He said cryptically, throwing him a conspiratorial wink as he reached up with one hand to twirl his trademark toothpick in the corner of his mouth. Stanley didn't have a clue what Squid was planning, but he didn't care, just as long as it helped him on his way to rescuing Zero.

And that's when something else occurred to him.

"Hold on, Squid. Why are you doing this? I thought you hated Zero?" Stanley inquired curiously. Squid sobered considerably, straightening up from the wall and shaking his head slightly from side to side before he tugged his baseball cap back on top of his dark brown mop of hair, staring down seriously at Stanley from beneath the rim.

"Nah, I don't hate him. None of us do. I don't know how to explain it, but us D tent guys gotta stick together and look out for each other, and Zero's one of us, even if we don't act like it." Squid told him, shrugging one of his shoulders at his vague explanation that didn't really shed much light on the situation to Stanley, but he knew it was the best explanation he was going to get.

Suddenly, a familiar loud whistle sounded, signalling that it was time for the boys of Camp Green Lake to trudge back out onto the lakebed once more. Chairs scraped noisily against the dusty Mess Hall floorboards as the delinquents got to their feet and headed for the exit. Squid started to turn away to follow them out, but then he hesitated and glanced back over his shoulder at Stanley.

"Zero's a good kid, Stanley." The taller boy said softly, his face unreadable, "So don't you hurt him, alright?"

Stanley gave Squid as small but warm smile in response, nodding his head once.

"I won't." He assured him truthfully.

"Good." Squid responded, the corners of his lips quirking upwards again before he walked away, catching sight of an unmistakeable shock of crazy blond hair and heading towards it, quickly being swallowed up in the departing sea of orange with Stanley not far behind.

* * *

**Like it? That last bit, just my take on what might've happened haha, I mean, it did seem a bit coincidental that disagreement with Squid and Magnet when Stanley stole the truck so meh :D And I hope I got across what I was trying to, in the way that the boys of D tent do have feelings too :)**

**Anyways, reviews please? I wont take as long to update next time, I promise. See ya!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heya everyone! I was going to update this yesterday since it was my birthday, but I just didnt get the chance. Ah well :D**

**Ok, I want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed/faved/alerted last chapter for me! - xXSadistic BarbieXx, LightXL_Ment2B, DaniMag-san, LeMoNsOuR, WhyteRoze28, KawaiiKilala77, bloodyreader200, book-zealot and nannals! THANK YOU! :D**

**Now this is the longest chapter by far at over 11,000 words O.O but there are loads of cute moments so my excuse is that they took up all the space haha! XD I'm not used to writing fluffy stuff, but now I'm really starting to like it. **

**Read on and review for me, thank you! It'd be like a late birthday present! ^^**

**EDIT: Sorry, I had to repost this again because something went wrong, so if reposting this loses the reviews I got from xXSadistic BarbieXx, White-Tainted-Red, DaniMag-san and MonochromousRainbow, it's ok, I'll still remember what you put and I'll still mention you in the thank you note next chapter. Unless you want to review again, by all means, be my guest :D**

* * *

Chapter 6:

Back out on the lakebed, Stanley wasn't really putting much effort into deepening his hole. Not that he usually put much effort into upending countless shovelfuls of dirt every single day, but today he was more concerned about saving his energy for his upcoming rescue attempt. He still didn't know exactly what Squid had in mind, but judging by the tiny amount Stanley knew about the taller dark-haired boy, Squid would make it impossible not to realise when the plan was about to come into action.

The new kid Twitch was digging not far away from Stanley, sweating and struggling beneath the already harsh sunlight that glared mercilessly down onto the lakebed from above. Stanley couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the shorter boy, who was now so drained that he could barely even twitch his fingers. After all, it wasn't all that long since that Stanley was in that exact same position, digging his first ever hole at Camp Green Lake and swiftly losing hope that he'd be able to last his eighteen months there.

And to be honest, Stanley still didn't know if he would survive the rest of his time here, but that was mainly because of what damn near suicidal thing he was about to do for the sake of Hector Zeroni. It might be a good cause, but that didn't stop Stanley from being as nervous as hell, and that most of the sweat that slicked his skin wasn't entirely caused by the heat.

Less than five minutes later, Stanley heard the familiar muffled sound of Mr Sir's water truck approaching, and sure enough the older man swerved around a few holes in his way and pulled up beside D tent. Immediately, the boys of D tent were climbing out of their holes before Mr Sir had even had chance to get out of his truck.

Twitch lifted his shovel and staggered sideways slightly, as though it was too heavy for him. His face was scrunched up in pain and he hissed quietly when he removed his hands from the wooden shaft, and Stanley knew without looking that the majority of Twitch's palms were now covered with large painful blisters.

"C'mon, Twitch, let's go." Zigzag called out as he and the others headed for the water truck.

"Hey, Twitch, come get some water." X-ray practically commanded as he strode briskly past, Stanley not far behind him. Twitch gingerly put aside his shovel and Stanley stopped, offering his hand down to the shorter boy to help him climb out of his hole.

"First hole's the hardest." Stanley said, giving Twitch a small smile as the boy gratefully took his offered hand and let Stanley help him up, grimacing from the contact of someone else's skin against his new collection of blisters.

"Thanks, man." Twitch replied when he was out of his hole. He lifted one hand up to examine the extent of the damage and Stanley took hold of his wrist, angling it towards him so he could inspect the blisters too. And looking at the state of Twitch's almost red raw hands made Stanley immensely thankful that his own blisters had already turned to callous, just like Mr Sir had assured him they would.

"Are you getting tired, X-ray?" Mr Sir asked as D tent lined up before him in their usual order with their empty canteens clutched loosely in their hands, waiting for the older man to fill them up again. "When you see me coming from now on, I want you to jump out of that hole! Be first in line straight away. I'm a little scratchy today, so you got to be sensitive with me."

Stanley was barely listening to what was happening behind him, because his gaze had swiftly fallen on the now unoccupied front seat of Mr Sir's water truck where a set of silver keys gleamed in the sunlight, still stuck in the ignition.

And just like that, Stanley had found his ticket out of there.

He glanced back over his shoulder at the line and caught Squid's dark-eyed stare already on him. The taller boy winked deliberately, one side of his mouth quirking upwards as he inclined his head ever so slightly in Stanley's direction. Quickly taking the hint, Stanley started walking towards the front of the truck, gesturing subtly for Twitch to follow him. After all, Twitch was the expert car thief and joyrider around here.

"C'mon." Stanley whispered urgently when the boy didn't immediately move, and then Twitch followed on beside him, glancing curiously at the queue at the back of the water truck and obviously wondering why they weren't joining it.

"Yeah, I apologise, Mr Sir." X-ray muttered, handing the older man his canteen and Mr Sir proceeded to fill it up beneath the spray of icy cold water without looking up.

"Yeah, yeah."

Squid seemed to be waiting for something, and sure enough, not five seconds later, Magnet tried his usual trick of attempting to push in front of the other boys in the queue instead of waiting in his designated place. And Squid instantly seized the opportunity the moment it presented itself.

"No way, man, I'm tired of you cutting in line!" Squid growled angrily, rounding on the slightly shorter Hispanic boy as he tried to cut in front of him and pushed Magnet back roughly.

"Get off me, man!" Magnet hissed in reply, squaring up to Squid challengingly. Squid shoved him again and Magnet slapped his hands away with a furious expression on his dusty sweat-slicked face. Those couple extra inches Squid had on Magnet certainly made a difference as Squid bore down on him, looking far more imposing than the other boy who was glaring up at him defiantly.

"Why don't you shut up?"

"What the heck is wrong with you? We all get water!"

Squid and Magnet were almost nose-to-nose now, and it was obvious that someone had to intervene before blows were exchanged between them. Not that any of the boys of D tent seemed all that bothered about stopping it, judging by the fact that they had all gathered around to watch.

"Hey, don't be squabbling up in here, both of you is gonna get some water!" X-ray called, taking the initiative as 'leader' of the group and moving to break them up, pushing them both back from each other.

"Hey, don't you push me!" Squid snapped at X-ray, giving the darker-skinned boy a rough shove back in return.

Stanley and Twitch glanced nervously over their shoulders at Squid's distraction as they moved cautiously closer to the front of the truck. Stanley peered in through the front window, wondering how the hell he was going to pull this off when he'd never driven a car in his entire life. He just had to hope that for once the family curse would allow him a little bit of luck, but he wasn't entirely convinced it would. It never had before.

"Man, stay in your place. We get water in order!" Stanley heard Squid say to Magnet. He looked questioningly at Twitch and the younger boy nodded quickly in the direction of the gear shaft. Twitch glanced back towards the queue for a second as Stanley carefully opened the truck door and slipped inside, shutting it just as silently behind him. Twitch wisely took a step backwards, so Stanley wouldn't run over his toes when he set off.

"Gentlemen, there's only one law around here, and that's _me_." Mr Sir announced gruffly, moving from the rear of the truck to break up the disagreement, hitching up his trousers as he walked. "You guys wanna learn tough lessons? Here, I'll give you a tough-guy lesson –"

Whatever else the older man had intended to say was instantly drowned out by the sudden roar of an engine starting, Stanley having just turned on the truck's ignition. Mr Sir's head snapped around wildly, his expression totally shocked as the truck creaked in protest when Stanley tried to accelerate without putting it in gear. The other boys' surprised expressions practically matched Mr Sir's, all except Squid who was standing there trying to bite back the knowing smirk that was playing at his lips.

Twitch looked around quickly, twitching anxiously.

"C'mon, c'mon, put it in gear!" He shouted almost desperately through the window as Mr Sir jerked into action and set off quickly towards the front of the truck, momentarily getting stuck behind Armpit before impatiently pushing him aside in his haste.

"Hey!" Mr Sir shouted. With his heart pounding in his throat, Stanley yanked the gear shaft and pressed his foot all the way down, sending the truck speeding off across the lakebed with Stanley screaming triumphantly as he swerved around several holes in his way.

Behind him, Stanley heard the boys of D tent wildly cheering him on and Stanley felt a small surge of warmth towards the boys who he'd previously thought didn't really give that much of a damn about him. But then again, remembering what Squid had said earlier about D tent having to stick together and look out for each other, it sort of made more sense to him now.

Stanley glanced up at the rear-view mirror and grinned widely when he caught sight of Mr Sir running after the truck at full pelt, his features absolutely livid with rage. With another triumphant shout, Stanley slapped his hands against the steering wheel joyously. God, it'd been ages since he'd had this much fun! And that look on Mr Sir's furious face just made the whole scenario even more hilarious than it already was. The D tent boys were jumping around now, laughing and shouting, pointing at Mr Sir as he sprinted after his truck like a man possessed.

By some adrenaline-fuelled miracle, Mr Sir managed to catch up to the truck as Stanley had to slow down a little to avoid a cluster of holes, and the older man slapped angrily on the window rim before reaching in and trying desperately to grab hold of Stanley through the front window.

"Stop this truck, you little –" Mr Sir snarled, but Stanley sharply turned another corner and Mr Sir's legs went out from underneath him, sending the older man to his knees in the dirt, but he'd kept his desperate grip on the window rim and suddenly found himself being dragged alongside the truck, his knees throwing up huge streams of dust where they scraped along the ground. The man reached for Stanley again, but Stanley slapped his hands away as they tried to seize hold of his orange overalls and Mr Sir pulled them back, clinging onto the window for dear life, obviously valuing his own safety over apprehending Stanley at that moment.

Feeling unusually devious, Stanley 'accidentally' drove a little too close to a hole and the ground suddenly vanished from beneath Mr Sir's knees, and the older man went flying face-first down into the hole in a cloud of dust. The boys of D tent howled even louder with laughter and Stanley shouted happily once more, waving one arm victoriously out of the window at the other delinquents of Camp Green Lake as he drove past them. They were all cheering for him, some even swinging their canteens around their heads in encouragement.

"Keep going, Caveman!" A boy from another tent shouted whom Stanley had never even seen before, so how the guy knew his nickname was a mystery to him.

"Yelnats! Stop that truck! Yelnats!" Mr Sir bellowed, dragging himself out of the hole and starting to chase after the truck again. Stanley laughed loudly, looking over his shoulder through the back window to watch Mr Sir's attempts to catch up with him. An unwise move, as it turned out, since Stanley really should've kept his eyes forwards so he could see where he was going.

"Bye-bye, Camp Green –" He started to yell, but then he was suddenly pitched forwards as the truck nose-dived straight into a hole and the water tank on the back practically exploded from the impact, splashing water everywhere. Luckily for Stanley, the truck's airbags had stopped him from flying straight through the windscreen, but now his escape plan had literally been grounded, since there was no way in hell that the truck would be moving again any time soon.

"My truck!" Mr Sir shouted in enraged disbelief as Stanley fought with the airbags to get free.

"You ok? Caveman!" X-ray called, his voice sounding strangely anxious as it travelled across the lakebed. Stanley would've seriously stopped to think about that had he not been trying to force his way out of the truck. And X-ray wasn't alone either, since several other boys of D tent started worriedly shouting for Stanley, seemingly concerned for his welfare.

"Caveman!"

"You alright?"

Stanley heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps crunching through the dirt, hurrying towards him. He glanced nervously through the back window again before he swore under his breath, cursing his own stupidity as he threw his shoulder forcefully against the door and it finally flung open. Stanley could see the D tent boys getting closer now, jumping over or dodging around holes to get to him, to see if he was ok. Oh, he was screwed now. Not only had his rescue mission failed before it'd barely began, but if the expression on Mr Sir's face was anything to go by, Stanley was going to be punished for this within an inch of his life.

And at that moment, being lost out on the huge barren wasteland of the lake was a much more appealing idea.

With his mind quickly made up, Stanley leaped out of the truck, sprawling gracelessly to the floor when his foot snagged against the edge of the hole he'd driven into. He scrambled hastily to his feet and then without another second's hesitation, Stanley Yelnats set off running faster than he'd ever run in his entire life, speeding out onto the lakebed with no other thought in his mind but to get the hell outta dodge before anyone (namely, Mr Sir) could even think about chasing after him.

"You done it now! You done it now!" Mr Sir hollered, gesturing angrily with his arms as he strode towards his completely wrecked water truck that was now hissing thick clouds of white smoke from the engine. The other boys of D tent had already come to a halt by the truck and were examining the wreckage in awe, X-ray and Magnet moving to get a closer look. Mr Sir pushed past them.

"Get back away from that truck!" He snarled at them, "Get away from that truck!"

No one seemed to be listening to the older man though, instead turning away from him to watch Stanley's rapid getaway. The cheering started up again, louder than before, and the boys jumped wildly up and down and waved goodbye to their fellow juvenile delinquent who was swiftly becoming little more than a shrinking orange speck in the distance.

"Yeah!"

"Go on, Caveman!"

Mr Sir glared out onto the horizon, his eyes narrowed in pure loathing.

"Yeah, keep going. There ain't gonna be no Yelnats the Fifth!" He shouted, but Stanley was too far away to hear him. In fact, Stanley had run so far away that he could barely make out the figures of Mr Sir and the rest of the Camp Green Lake boys when he stole a quick look back to make sure he wasn't being followed.

Huh. As if anyone would be stupid enough to follow him. They all knew that he wouldn't survive long out on the lakebed with no food or water. They'd give him a week, tops, and after that he'd be nothing but buzzard food.

But Stanley didn't care.

He was going to find Zero even if it killed him.

Which it undoubtedly would.

* * *

Stanley had been walking for hours. At least that's what it felt like. Hell, he didn't even know how long he'd been out there or which direction he was heading in. Everywhere he turned the barren wasteland just looked exactly the same from every angle. He could've been walking in circles for all he knew.

At least he hadn't run into any more of the local wildlife yet, so that was a definite plus. When he'd first come across that hole earlier that'd had about ten yellow-spotted lizards squirming around inside it, he could've sworn his heart nearly burst through his chest it was pounding that hard with fear, but thankfully none of them decided to jump out and chase him, so he'd been able to move on without having to flee for his life from a group of hungry venomous reptiles.

Stanley's canteen hung down from it's strap over his shoulder, slapping against his hip, reminding him just how empty it was with every step he took. He really should've filled it up before he'd commandeered the water truck, but he hadn't thought of that at the time, and it was too late to do anything about it now, so he just tried his best to ignore the dryness that was scratching his mouth and throat raw from the inside. It wasn't easy, but he was managing. For now.

The sun was high up in the sky, directly above Stanley's head and obviously determined to burn him alive. He squinted against the harsh sunlight from beneath his battered red baseball cap, not caring that the heat was causing thin trickles of sweat to make slick lines through the layer of grime that covered his face.

For some reason, Stanley happened to glance downwards as he approached one of the few sparse shrubs that occasionally dotted the otherwise lifeless lakebed every few hundred metres and he noticed a murky brown shape that was carelessly draped over the pale leaves. Stanley walked over to it and picked the thing up, realising that it was nothing more than an empty old sunflower seed sack. He examined it in his hands for a moment and was about to throw it away again when he looked up and caught sight of something that was a definite change to the same old scenery he'd been traipsing through for the last God knows how long.

Was that really what he thought it was? No, it couldn't be. It must've been a hallucination from the lack of water or something.

Stanley blinked a few times, squinting as he moved slowly closer. The image didn't change. It was without a doubt an overturned boat, and since this used to be a lake once upon a time, it wasn't that hard for Stanley to believe it was the real deal.

Now that he was pretty sure the boat wasn't a mirage, Stanley ran the rest of the way up to it and stopped beside it, staring at it in disbelief. God, this thing must be old, considering how the lake must've dried up about a hundred years ago. It wasn't a big boat; more like a little rowboat, made entirely of sturdy-looking weathered wood.

Stanley walked around to the other side of the boat and saw that the earth had been disturbed, looking as though someone had dug down to find shelter underneath. A familiar warm feeling started to spread through Stanley's body. Had Zero dug that? It had to have been him! There was no one else out here for miles!

Holding back his excitement, Stanley inched further towards the man-made trench and crouched down slightly to peer inside. He could barely see through the shade beneath the boat, but it was impossible not to make out the shape of a pair of skinny legs clad in dusty orange overalls splayed out carelessly across the ground, their owner not moving an inch. Stanley couldn't even tell if the figure was still breathing or not, and that was a horribly chilling thought, since the legs were obviously Zero's.

"Zero?" Stanley called softly, leaning a little closer. Zero didn't move. He didn't even twitch at the sound of Stanley's voice. Stanley felt his stomach twist in fear, desperately hoping that he hadn't arrived too late to save his best friend.

"Zero!" He repeated, a bit louder and more urgent this time, and once more Zero didn't make a single move in response. Stanley leaned back on his heels, sadness and despair rapidly filling up inside him as he continued to stare helplessly down at the lifeless form of Hector Zeroni.

Zero's foot shifted slightly, the movement so tiny that Stanley didn't even register that it had happened until the legs were sluggishly drawn back under the boat. A relieved smile spread across Stanley's face as a dark hand reached out from the shade and Zero's springy-haired head and thin shoulders appeared, the smaller boy squinting confusedly up at him through the harsh sunlight.

"Huh?" Zero croaked, his voice hoarse as he flashed Stanley an understandably weak smile. "Stanley."

Stanley laughed out loud and leapt down the small trench to meet Zero halfway as the dark-skinned boy dragged himself fully out from underneath the boat. Without hesitation, Stanley threw his arms around Zero's slender frame and hugged the other boy tightly to his chest, practically burying his face into Zero's shoulder. No words could come anywhere near to describing just how glad he was to have Zero back alive and well. Even the simple feeling of Zero's chest rising and falling against his as he breathed was pure heaven.

"What's up man? How you doing?" Stanley cried happily, not letting go, his arms locked in an almost steely grip across Zero's back.

"M'alright." Zero said, his voice muffled from where his face was pressed against Stanley's own shoulder. Reluctantly, Stanley released him and Zero slid himself sideways to sit in the dust next to the taller boy. Stanley watched him move, then he reached over with one hand to smooth back the dusty corkscrew curls from Zero's forehead, examining him for any injuries.

"We thought you were gone." Stanley told him.

"Thought I was." Zero admitted.

"Let me see. You don't look too bad." Stanley mused aloud, still checking Zero's face. Zero tilted his head weakly back a little as Stanley's fingers gently pushed his curls out of the way, and Stanley forced himself not to stare too longingly at the smooth column of Zero's throat that looked so amazingly tempting from that angle. Thankfully, he was saved from a furious heated blush by Zero suddenly catching sight of Stanley's canteen.

"You got any water?" Zero asked, gesturing hopefully towards the plastic canteen. Stanley reluctantly removed his hand from Zero's forehead, letting his hair spring back down into place around his thin pointed face as Stanley looked down and picked up his canteen, forgetting for a brief second that it was as dry as the desert around them.

"No, I'm out."

"Oh." Zero mumbled somewhat dejectedly, turning his head away from Stanley to face the front.

"But hey, y'know the water truck?" Stanley said, smiling. Zero's head turned towards him again and he nodded. "I tried to drive the whole thing over here. I drove it into a hole!"

Zero shook his head fondly, his chocolate eyes soft and warm beneath the shadows cast by his springy hair.

"Figures." He murmured, casting his gaze out onto the empty lakebed for a few seconds before he returned his eyes to fix on Stanley and noticed the burlap sack that the taller boy still hadn't let go of yet.

"What's in the bag?"

"Oh, it's empty." Stanley replied, fiddling around with the bag a bit in his hands. Zero dropped his head sideways where it made a dull thud sound against the side of the boat and he sighed heavily before his mouth stretched into a wide yawn. Stanley looked at him silently and bit his bottom lip before he looked away again. Poor kid. Stanley knew that this was probably the worst rescue in the entire world, since really all he'd succeeded in doing was giving Zero some company for the few short days they had left out on the lakebed. He hadn't brought no food, no water… Hell, all Stanley had was an empty sunflower seed sack and an even emptier canteen. What were they supposed to do with those? This was stupid, they should just go back to the camp to face their punishment for running away and then get back to digging holes everyday. At least they'd both still be alive then.

"Zero, we gotta get back to camp." Stanley said quietly. Zero lifted his head up off the boat and frowned at him, his brow creasing in that all too familiar adorable way that Stanley had seriously come to miss over the past few days.

"I'm not going back." Zero told him, and Stanley shook his head and looked away once more, not really knowing what else to say. Silence fell over them both for couple of seconds before Zero decided to speak again.

"Want some sploosh?"

It was Stanley's turn to frown this time, his forehead furrowed in confusion at the smaller boy sat beside him.

"Some what?"

"Sploosh." Zero repeated. He paused for a moment, waiting for an answer from Stanley, but it was clear the older boy had absolutely no idea what he was talking about so Zero started sliding back under the boat. "C'mon, follow me, I'll show you."

"Some…?" Stanley echoed, bewildered.

"C'mon."

Zero completely disappeared from sight beneath the boat so Stanley had no choice but to follow him down. The shade was a welcome relief from the vicious sunlight and Stanley gaped around the inside of the overturned boat, watching as Zero shuffled over to the back of the boat where the shovel he'd taken with him when he'd ran away was laid, surrounded by several empty jars. Obviously whatever had previously been in those jars were what Zero had been living off since his escape from Camp Green Lake.

"You have a door?" Stanley muttered as he straightened up the best he could and crawled over to the opposite wall, turning around and leaning back against it.

"This is how I found it." Zero replied. He took hold of a fresh jar and slammed it down hard against the corner of the shovel's metal blade three times, making dull clunking sounds until there was the crunch of broken glass and the top of the jar came off in Zero's hand. Something wet and gooey-looking trickled over the brim and slid down a couple of Zero's fingers, and Zero licked some of the liquid off the jagged edge before he held the jar out to Stanley.

"Here." Zero said. Stanley took the jar from him and examined the contents curiously. It didn't look very appetising, put it that way. Just how old was this jarful of thick orange gloopy stuff, anyway? A hundred years, if it was in the boat when the lake dried up, and that was just disgusting. Stanley didn't really fancy getting food poisoning from a century-year-old jar of slime. To be honest, he'd rather die of dehydration.

"What is this?" Stanley asked warily. Zero leaned back against the wall of the boat and smiled at Stanley, still holding the broken lid in his hand.

"Sploosh. That's what I call it. Drink it, it's good!" Zero encouraged. Stanley lifted the jar up to his face and sniffed at it suspiciously before he went to take a drink, glancing briefly over at the smaller boy as he did so.

Zero watched him with the smile still dimpling his face as he licked some of the 'sploosh' stuff off the broken lid.

Stanley reluctantly swallowed his mouthful of sploosh and was surprised to find that it actually did taste much better than it looked. It was thick, sweet and tangy, with the tiniest hint of spice, and seemed to fill his stomach with honeyed warmth. Stanley eyed the inside of the jar once more before he returned his gaze to Zero.

"That is pretty good." Stanley admitted, licking a stray splodge of the stuff off his top lip, totally oblivious to how Zero's dark eyes followed the slick movement of his tongue and how the smaller boy's throat worked as he swallowed thickly.

"Yeah." Zero said, his previous smiling widening into a wonderful white grin as he flicked his stare almost absently back at the lid he still held.

"Tastes like peaches. How many of these you got left?" Stanley asked, and he immediately knew he'd said the wrong thing. Zero sighed heavily and pointed over to the jar in Stanley's grip, his smile having swiftly disappeared from his dusty gorgeous face.

"That's the last one."

There was a moment where Stanley just stared with wide eyes at the other boy, then he let out a short humourless laugh of disbelief and set the jar aside. Now that'd been one hell of a reality check. That was Zero's last jar of sploosh, the only source of food out here for miles, and Stanley had just shown up and drank half of it without even stopping to consider that it could've been all they had left, which it bloody was. A hot spike of annoyance shot through Stanley, mainly directed at himself for being such an idiot.

"We need to get back to camp, ok?" Stanley announced, his voice sounding brisk and irritated even to his own ears. "So let's wrap it up, get your bag, put this in and we'll go."

Zero frowned even deeper than before, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm not going back." He repeated, a little more firmly this time. Stanley bit back an exasperated growl and pulled himself up onto his hands and knees, leaning towards Zero, licking his lips again just in case there was any more sploosh sticking to them.

"You will _die_ out here." Stanley told the smaller boy, deadly serious. Zero didn't react to the words like Stanley had expected him to. If anyone had said that to him, he would've flinched at the thought of it, but Zero just stared back at him with that unreadable expression he wore so well before he looked away again, absently licking sploosh from his fingertips.

And Stanley definitely _did not_ watch that pointed pink tongue lap at those caramel-coloured fingers, so he also _did not_ acknowledge the badly timed flare of heat in his abdomen that wasn't as completely innocent as it usually was. Oh crap, there was a time and a place for everything, and this was so not it. And besides, Stanley was still irritated about Zero's lack of self-preservation to think about anything else. Almost.

"Here's what we're gonna do, ok? We're gonna go back to camp. We're gonna tell the Warden exactly where I found Kate Barlow's lipstick tube, and she'll be so happy that we won't get in any trouble." Stanley suggested, planning out loud. Yeah, that should work. After all, if the Warden wanted Kissin' Kate Barlow's buried treasure so badly, then she wouldn't really care about punishing him and Zero when Stanley told her where to dig for it.

Zero didn't say anything, instead picking up the jar of sploosh from beside Stanley and raising it to his lips to take a drink.

"Ok?" Stanley prompted when Zero didn't reply, looking expectantly down at the smaller springy-haired boy for an answer. Zero stopped drinking and turned his head back to face Stanley, his expression seemingly thoughtful.

"What's Mare-yuh-low?" Zero inquired after a few seconds, staring up at the taller boy in open curiosity. Stanley stayed silent for a moment, thrown by the random question.

"What're you talking about?" Stanley replied hotly, really annoyed now, and not just at himself this time. He'd seriously underestimated how stubborn Zero would be about returning to camp, but even this was a bloody mystery to him. Mare what? Was that even a word?

"Mare-yuh-low." Zero repeated. Stanley sat back against the wall of the boat sulkily, only just managing to stop his bottom lip from jutting out into a childish pout.

"I don't know."

Zero sighed and shook his head in exasperation, his corkscrew curls swinging around his face.

"C'mon, dude." Zero said, moving to climb back out from under the boat. Stanley watched as the smaller boy scooted past him and started pulling himself up out of the trench and Stanley rolled his eyes slightly before following him.

Zero yanked his skinny body out into the merciless sunlight and casually plonked himself down on one of the dirt mounds surrounding the entrance to the underside of the boat, waiting for Stanley to emerge and join him. Stanley reached up and slapped his hand down on top of the boat, dragging himself free and slouching down in the trench next to Zero, not bothering to waste any more effort on attempting to sit upright.

Zero pointed with one hand towards the back corner of the boat, and Stanley followed his line of sight and noticed some upside-down words that had been carved into the wood.

"See?" Zero said.

"Oh, it's Mary Lou." Stanley read, the words easy for him to make out even though they weren't the right way up. Zero frowned slightly.

"Oh. But I thought 'Y' made the 'yuh' sound."

"It does at the beginning of the word, but not at the end of a…" Stanley started to explain to him, but then he suddenly trailed off when he happened to glance out onto the horizon and his eyes almost automatically landed on an oddly shaped mountain in the distance that instantly brought back a conversation that Stanley had had once with his grandpa, when Stanley had learnt that his great-grandfather had been robbed by the infamous female outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow.

"_She left him stranded in the desert. No water, no food for sixteen days."_

"_But grandpa, how'd he survive?"_

"_They said he found refuge on God's Thumb."_

"_What's God's Thumb?"_

"_Who knows? He was half crazy when they found him."_

Stanley couldn't believe it. His eyes must've been playing tricks on him. Maybe he really was hallucinating this time, or the sploosh had already taken a nasty effect on him, because there was _no way_ on earth that that could be…

"See that mountain right there?" Stanley asked Zero, who had been glancing at him somewhat worriedly from the corner of his eye, wondering why Stanley had randomly stopped talking in mid-sentence. Zero tore his gaze from Stanley to cast it out over the lakebed instead, looking in the same direction as Stanley was pointing.

"That one?" Zero replied, lifting one hand from where it rested on his knee to point at the mountain in question.

"Yeah." Stanley confirmed.

"Huh." Zero murmured as they both dropped their arms back down to their sides. Stanley hesitated for a second before he tilted his head towards Zero again to ask him another question.

"What does that look like to you?"

Zero blinked slowly at the mountain for a moment more, and then he moved his hand, giving Stanley the thumbs up sign. Stanley returned the hand gesture and both of them glanced simultaneously from their hands to the mountain in the distance that was unmistakeably the exact same shape.

"Y'know, my great-grandpa almost died out here." Stanley said almost casually to Zero, even though he felt anything but casual at that moment. Excitement was rapidly swelling inside his chest at the amazing discovery they'd just made. Who would've thought it? Perhaps Stanley's luck was changing for the better after all!

Zero blinked at him owlishly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. They say he survived because he made it to the top of God's Thumb."

* * *

Even from a distance, it had been obvious that God's Thumb was by far the biggest mountain in sight, but Stanley hadn't quite been prepared for exactly how absolutely huge it was when he and Zero came to a halt at the very base of it, craning their necks as they stared heavenwards, squinting through the harsh sunlight that was determined to blind them.

They'd been walking for a while now, having set off from the overturned boat earlier with their shovel and the previously empty burlap sack now packed full with a few of the unbroken empty sploosh jars. But it hadn't taken them as long to reach God's Thumb as Stanley had thought it would, and that was a good thing really, since it gave them more time to climb the damn thing and reach the top before nightfall.

"You ready?" Stanley asked Zero, sounding more confident than he actually felt.

"It's a long way." Zero replied wearily.

"Yeah, well we better get up there before dark."

"Yeah."

They stared at the vast towering rock face that reached way up above them and Zero shook his head in incredulity, no doubt thinking they must be out of their minds to even consider climbing it, but he didn't voice that opinion out loud. Stanley was thinking the exact same thing, actually, but he wasn't going to let a bit of pessimism stop him now. His great-grandfather had made it up there all those years ago, so why shouldn't Stanley and Zero be able to do the same?

With a barely repressed sigh, Stanley moved forwards to start their ascent up the mountainside, Zero following not far behind.

Stanley had long since given up on trying to keep track of the time as they climbed, scaling their way slowly but surely up the almost vertical cliff face, Stanley with his canteen and the burlap sack strapped around his chest, following Zero with the shovel, who turned out to be almost as good as climbing as he was at digging. Seriously, the smaller boy was like a little monkey, clinging to the rock as though he'd been born to do it. Stanley wasn't jealous though, since he was doing well enough himself. Those long weeks spent digging holes had definitely benefited his body, making him stronger and able to endure physical exertion for longer. Thank God for that, because without it, Stanley wouldn't have even attempted to climb God's Thumb at all.

"Hey, Stanley." Zero suddenly spoke as he pulled himself up onto another ledge, sounding a little breathless. "What d'you think's up there?"

"I don't know, probably a great big Frosty Freeze." Stanley smiled in reply, passing the shovel up to Zero so he had both his arms free to drag his body onto the ledge alongside the dark-skinned boy.

"Good. I could use a hot fudge sundae."

"Is that all you keep thinking about? Imagine how fine this Mary Lou probably looked in a bikini." Stanley grinned and then he let out a surprised yelp when his foot almost slipped out from under him, but he quickly managed to right himself again before he could fall flat on his face.

To be honest, though, Stanley _couldn't_ imagine how fine this Mary Lou looked in a bikini, since the only images that played over and over in Stanley's head were of Zero… watching him blush, seeing him at the showers that time, teaching him how to read, kissing him, digging with him, watching him lick sploosh off his fingers… Bloody hell, Stanley had it bad. And it really didn't help that Zero was leading the way, considering how that meant that when they climbed, all Stanley had was a rather nice view of Zero's backside. As spectacular as the sight in front of him was, it was incredibly distracting, especially when they were God knows how many feet above the ground right now and could fall to their deaths at any second.

It was only sheer desperation that kept them going, along with the thought that they'd find food and water when they reached the top of God's Thumb. Stanley seriously prayed that he'd been right about this, because if not, he'd dragged himself and Zero up a mountain for nothing.

And if that happened, Stanley knew for a fact that they'd never make it back down again alive.

* * *

So far, the climb hadn't been particularly challenging. Until now, of course, when Stanley found himself clinging onto a rather steep wall of rock, his hands and feet planted firmly into the few handholds he'd managed to find as he watched Zero drag himself up first onto the ledge above him.

"C'mon up." Zero said, grunting a little with the effort as he clambered up onto the level surface and then turned around to help Stanley. "Don't look down, man."

It was purely instinctive (and stupid), but the moment Zero said that, Stanley couldn't help but do the exact opposite and he glanced down over his shoulder before immediately regretting it, all the blood draining from his face in fear at the sheer drop below.

"Oh my God." Stanley groaned hoarsely, breathing a little more shallowly than he had been a second ago as he nervously shifted his feet as much as he dared for a better position on the rock face.

"Ok, c'mon Stanley, you can do it. C'mon." Zero smiled supportively, crouching low and reaching down with one hand, patting it encouragingly against the rock. He twisted his head to glance briefly upwards at the rest of the way they still had to climb before sunset, then turned his attention back to Stanley, who swallowed thickly and moved a slightly trembling hand up towards another handhold in the wall.

"Ok. Ok. Did you grab right there?" Stanley asked, tilting his head towards the small hole in the rock face in question, not daring to move his other hand yet. Zero nodded and pointed at it.

"Yeah, that's where I got it."

Steeling himself, Stanley made a hasty grab for the handhold, but he misjudged the distance and his fingers slipped, causing Stanley to swing hard back against the unforgiving rock face with a loud thud. His spine exploded with pain so intense that Stanley seriously thought he'd broken some bones in his back, but he just clenched his jaw and tried to ignore it, now literally hanging from the side of the mountain by one hand.

"Whoa!" Stanley yelled in pure fear, his whole life flashing before his eyes in sickening blur of colour.

Without a second's hesitation, Zero quickly pushed himself as close as he could possibly get to the edge without falling off and thrust his hand desperately down to try and reach Stanley, his dark chocolate eyes wide with fear.

"No! No, no, no! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Zero shouted frantically as his fingers scrambled uselessly against the rock several inches out of reach from Stanley's own. Stanley forced himself to swing back and clutch onto the rock face again, but from there he really didn't know what to do next. There was no way that he was going to try and grab that handhold again. He might not be so lucky this time.

Realising that he wouldn't be able to get to Stanley no matter how hard he stretched, Zero moved back and seized the shovel from behind him, laying it down and gripping onto the metal blade with both hands so the wooden end was near enough for Stanley to reach. With an immense amount of effort, Stanley lunged up and grabbed hold of the shovel, using it to help drag his aching body up towards the ledge.

Zero was holding onto the shovel blade impossibly tight, his teeth gritted together as he groaned in pain, Stanley's weight almost too much for the smaller boy to manage, but he refused to let go until Stanley had pulled himself up onto level ground.

Stanley threw himself down into the dirt beside Zero, so overwhelmed with relief that he didn't notice Zero release the shovel with another groan of pain, arching his back from the effort before reaching over to place the shovel gingerly back down on the other side of him.

Stanley didn't move from that sprawled-out position for at least a whole minute before he sluggishly sat up and laughed breathlessly as he glanced over the side, then blanched again at the sheer steepness of it. Jesus, that was a long way down. And he'd almost had first-hand experience at just how much of a long way down it really was.

"Oh. Look at that." Stanley breathed, his voice coming out weaker than he'd meant it to. Zero moved past him, shuffling backwards through the dust as he held both his hands up towards himself and examined his palms with a pained expression on his face.

"Look at this, man. This isn't cool." Zero groaned, shifting sideways so Stanley could sit beside him, both of them now a safe enough distance away from the cliff's edge.

"What happened?" Stanley asked. Zero groaned again, his brow furrowed and his teeth clenched in pain. He held his hands out so Stanley could see them, and the first thing that Stanley noticed was red. Lots of red. Zero was bleeding! Both his palms had an identical deep gash running straight across the centre that was leaking blood steadily, lines of scarlet staining Zero's dusty caramel skin. How had that happened?

And then it hit him.

The shovel. Zero hadn't let go of the metal blade of it, not even when the weight of Stanley had caused the sharp edges to cut into his hands. Stanley felt a wave of gratitude spread through his body at the same time as a familiar rush of heat flared up in his stomach once again.

"Alright, hold on." Stanley told him, examining the other boy's bloodied hands for a few seconds longer before he reached around his chest and seized hold of the sunflower seed sack still strapped there. He tore the top strip of cloth straight off the sack and then ripped the material again into two long thin lengths of fabric. Zero watched him with a frown, biting his bottom lip.

Stanley took Zero's hands gently in his own and proceeded to wrap up the injuries with the makeshift bandages.

"AAAH!" Zero cried out loudly in pain, the sound echoing all around the mountainside.

"Is it numb or is it stinging?" Stanley asked, his voice muffled due to the second piece of cloth he was holding in his mouth as he used both hands to tie the knot on the first crude bandage. It was a pretty stupid question really, considering how Zero's previous agonised shout had already given him the answer to that one.

"It stings, man." Zero groaned in reply, but this time there was a hint of amusement beneath the pain. Stanley smiled at him warmly, taking the cloth from his mouth and fastening it around Zero's other injured hand.

"Don't think about it right now." He told him. "When we get to the top of the mountain, I'm gonna get you a hot fudge sundae, alright? I promise."

Zero smiled back at him, dimples appearing in both his cheeks from the wideness of his grin. Stanley's heart swelled to new levels of affection for the smaller boy, if that was even possible.

"Good. All that sploosh is getting to me." Zero replied, and Stanley didn't miss the tiredness in the other boy's voice. Zero was running out of steam already, and they weren't anywhere near the top of God's Thumb yet. Stanley wasn't doing much better himself, but Zero had been out here without food or water for three days longer than he had, so it was understandable that the springy-haired boy was in a worse state than him.

Stanley just hoped that Zero would hold up long enough for them to make it to the top of the mountain, because if he didn't… well, Stanley didn't even want to finish that train of thought, but if Zero couldn't make it, Stanley would be damned before he left his best friend behind.

They were in this together, no matter what happened.

* * *

"Give me another word." Zero said quietly as he trailed along behind Stanley, clutching the shovel loosely in one hand and dragging his feet tiredly through the dirt as he walked. Stanley was leading the way, Zero having slowed down not long ago, but Stanley knew that it was sheer willpower that kept Zero going now. He was in a pretty bad shape, but he refused to let it stop their ascent. Zero was much stronger than people gave him credit for, and Stanley was incredibly proud of him for that.

"R-O-C-K." Stanley spelled out for him. He'd found that teaching Zero words while they were walking was a great way to keep the smaller boy's mind off how tired and hungry he was.

"Ro... rock?"

"Yeah, that's right man, you're doing good." Stanley smiled as he started to climb a particularly steep rock slope. His back was turned to Zero at that moment, so he didn't notice how the springy-haired boy staggered slightly on his weak legs. "Keep practising."

Suddenly Zero started coughing hoarsely, but Stanley didn't get too worked up over it. Zero had been coughing more and more the higher they climbed, so Stanley just continued on pulling himself up the steep rock face and waited patiently for Zero to finish and follow him.

"Almost there, c'mon." Stanley said encouragingly, glancing back down over his shoulder at his best friend. Zero's coughing fit got a little harsher and he lurched to a stop, dropping the shovel as he doubled over and clutched at his stomach. He retched mid-cough and only just managed to swipe the string of his hat that dangled down around his throat out of the way before he threw up; emptying what little sploosh had been left in the contents of his stomach.

"You alright?" Stanley asked, getting seriously concerned now. Zero let out another weak cough and fell to his knees, leaning unsteadily sideways before he could stop himself and started tumbling roughly down the slight incline of the mountainside.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Zero!" Stanley shouted in absolute panic, immediately jumping down from the rock and leaping after Zero, who was rolling painfully down the hill with increasing speed. Luckily for him, Stanley seized hold of the smaller boy by the nearest arm and leg, instantly halting his progress down the side of the mountain.

"Zero, Zero, Zero, Zero!" Stanley cried, repeating his friend's name frantically, his breathing ragged from both the rush of adrenaline zipping around his system and the horrible realisation that he'd just very nearly lost Zero for the second time in less than a week. "Got you, got you, got you."

Zero hung limply in Stanley's desperate unyielding grip, his dark eyes shut and his mouth hanging open in pain and lethargy.

"You good? Hold on. Alright." Stanley murmured soothingly, though he was probably calming himself more than Zero. His heart was still racing in his chest, pounding furiously against his ribcage like it was trying to punch its way straight through it.

Zero's corkscrew curls had gotten caught on the branch of a small shrub and Stanley let go of the smaller boy's arm to untangle his hair from the plant.

"Alright, hold on. Let me get in front of you, stay right there." Stanley said, climbing over Zero as carefully as he could, blocking the springy-haired boy from falling any further down the mountainside with his body. He slowly turned Zero around so he was lying in a more comfortable and stable position in the dirt, his back resting against a protruding length of rock that ran down both sides of the incline.

"Ok. Here. Slide this down, ok." Stanley manoeuvred Zero's legs into place for him, and Zero's jaw clenched tightly as he was gently moved. Every part of his body was hurting dully all at once, and there wasn't a doubt in Zero's mind that he was going to have some serious bruises from this in the morning.

"There we go, nice and comfy."

Stanley sat back against the opposite raised length of rock, facing Zero. Zero let his head loll back, obviously too weak and/or exhausted to raise it, and the smaller boy just laid there like he was boneless, his eyes still closed.

"Stanley, I gotta tell you something." Zero murmured softly after a few long seconds of silence. Stanley jumped slightly from the unexpected sound of Zero's hoarse voice.

"What?"

Zero didn't answer, instead letting his head fall slowly to the side. Fighting back another surge of panic for his friend, Stanley leaned forwards and patted Zero on the chest perhaps a little rougher than he'd meant to, trying to keep the other boy conscious. Stanley bit his bottom lip worriedly as Zero merely stirred and moaned, scrunching up his thin face and gritting his teeth as he turned his head to the other side.

"Huh? C'mon, Zero." Stanley said. Zero's head dropped back against the rock he was leaning against. He was completely unconscious now, his mouth gaping open as his chest rose and fell shallowly beneath his dusty orange jumpsuit.

"Zero? Zero!" Stanley called, practically pleading for Zero to open his eyes again, but it was useless. Zero wasn't about to wake up any time soon, so Stanley had little choice about how to proceed. Leaving Zero behind was definitely _not_ an option, so Stanley could either wait for his friend to wake up or he could carry him the rest of the way. And since they were losing daylight right now, continuing on was really the only option Stanley had.

Stanley pulled back from Zero and swiftly got to his feet.

"Alright, we can't sit here, we gotta keep going. We're gonna go get the shovel and we're gonna fill it full of ice cream." Stanley told Zero, even though he knew the other boy couldn't hear him. He bent down and picked up Zero's skinny body easily, holding him bridal style in his arms as he started making his way cautiously back up to level ground. Once there, Stanley transferred Zero from his arms to his back, wrapping his arms around Zero's thighs as the smaller boy's arms fell to drape around Stanley's neck.

Stanley crouched down as far as he dared to pick up the abandoned shovel before he straightened up again, shifting Zero a few inches higher up his back. Almost instinctively, Zero's arms moved to grip onto each other around Stanley's neck and his springy-haired head landed beside Stanley's own, his pointed chin resting on the taller boy's shoulder.

As Stanley set off, he could've sworn he felt a soft full pair of lips press gratefully into the side of his throat.

* * *

Stanley's feet were sore and his entire body was aching beyond belief, his legs feeling like lead weights that constantly threatened to fold beneath him. Each step he took felt like it was going to be the very last one he could possibly manage, but somehow he forced himself to keep on going, and not just for his own sake.

The smaller boy still hadn't woken up yet, not since he'd fallen halfway back down the side of the mountain and lost consciousness a few minutes after. Stanley had been carrying him on his back right on through the day as he kept on with their ascent up the mountain to the very top of God's Thumb. Surely they were almost there by now.

And even if they weren't almost there, Stanley knew they'd have to stop soon. Night had already fallen over the mountains and the pale glow from the full moon above was the only thing lighting Stanley's path now. It'd be stupid and dangerous to keep going through the night.

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, several tiny midges appeared in the air in front of him and flew straight for his face, no doubt attracted to the layer of sweat that clung to his skin.

"Damn bugs." Stanley muttered in annoyance, lashing out and swatting at them with the shovel he'd been carrying along with Zero, trying to keep a firm grip on the smaller boy as he did so, just in case he accidentally dislodged him. He needn't have worried though. Zero's arms were locked so tight around his neck that he was about an inch away from strangling him.

Stanley paused for a second, releasing the shovel and letting it lean against his shoulder as he wiped his brow tiredly with one hand, fighting to keep his eyes open. God, he was exhausted. He was down to his absolute last dregs of energy now, his body slowly but surely getting heavier and heavier. With great effort, he set off walking again, treading cautiously down a slight muddy banking.

And that's when realisation struck him like a lightning bolt.

"Wait a minute." Stanley muttered to himself. "Wait. If there's bugs, that must mean there's…"

He came to a swift halt, his wide hazel eyes taking in every inch of his surroundings. Despite the darkness, Stanley could clearly see that they were standing in the middle of a small gully with a steady stream of water nearby, the area almost completely covered with clusters of long thick grass. To anyone else, it probably would've been pretty unremarkable, but to Stanley it was like he'd died and gone to heaven.

"Water." He breathed, his gaze drawn immediately to the gentle lapping of water against the muddy ground. Stanley's lips slowly spread into a wide smile before he laughed triumphantly, dropping the shovel and running the rest of the way down the slippery banking, clutching onto Zero as he half-slid, half-sprinted down to the centre of the ditch.

"Hector, wake up, man! Hector, wake up!" Stanley shouted happily. He squelched to a stop beside a large pale grey rock and gently unlatched Zero's arms from around his throat, letting the smaller boy slide down over his shoulder so he could lay him carefully down on the smooth surface.

"Alright, buddy. Alright. There we go." Stanley murmured as he set Zero down. With one hand, Stanley lightly slapped Zero's cheek, trying to bring him back to consciousness. "Wake up, Hector. Huh?"

With a shout of joy, Stanley turned and threw himself down into the nearest puddle, cupping his hands together and scooping water up into his eager mouth, drinking deeply. It tasted of more mud than water, but at that moment, Stanley really couldn't care less.

When his hands were empty again, he glanced back over at Zero. Apart from the slight fluttering of his eyelids, the springy-haired boy hadn't moved at all. Worry started to build in Stanley's chest, his heart clenching with the thought that maybe Zero wouldn't ever wake up again. Maybe it was already too late. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if that happened.

"Hector, wake up." Stanley repeated, scooping up another handful of water and throwing it at Zero. The instant the spray of water hit Zero's dark skin, he sat bolt upright on the rock in a flash, the look on his thin face one of complete confusion and disbelief as small droplets of muddy liquid dripped down his cheeks.

"Wake up!" Stanley chuckled in relief this time, watching Zero as he stared around the gully with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, a small frown just starting to crease his brow. Stanley laughed at his expression, swirling his hands deep in the muddy puddle before he just couldn't resist the temptation any longer and threw himself belly-first straight into it, splashing murky brown water everywhere.

"Dude, this feels so good!" He grinned. Zero slid down off the rock, letting his feet sink into the thick mud as he stood upright, still looking around with that tiny frown that was slowly beginning to turn into a wide smile of his own. Stanley laughed again and surged to his feet.

"We made it!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he tackled Zero, wrapping his arms around the boy's thighs and lifting him up into the air over one shoulder.

"Stanley!" Zero yelled in surprise, his legs kicking vainly as he found himself airborne for about half a second before Stanley swung him down and landed them both straight in the middle of the shallow puddle with a huge splash. They laughed as they were immediately drenched from head to foot with icy cold water, sliding around the mud as they wrestled.

"Hector, we made it, buddy!"

"Cold, cold, cold, cold!" Zero cried out, shivering a little as he tried to pull himself back up, but his foot slipped in the sludge and he fell straight back down again. Stanley smiled fondly at Zero and crawled closer, leaning over him. Zero flashed him a wide smile in return, his dark eyes glittering playfully in the moonlight. He looked completely and utterly beautiful right at that moment, and Stanley abruptly realised that he couldn't resist the allure of Hector Zeroni any longer.

"We made it." Stanley repeated, his voice softer this time. He reached down and brushed Zero's sodden corkscrew curls back from his face, his fingers lingering against the soft caramel skin of his cheek. Zero stared up at him with warm eyes like melted chocolate, propping himself up onto his elbows and tilting his head upwards as Stanley leaned down and pressed their lips lightly together.

This was exactly how their first kiss should've been. It was sweet, chaste and slow, no tongues or teeth involved as they simply savoured the gentle pressure of one soft pair of lips against another. Despite how much Stanley had enjoyed their original first kiss back in D tent that day, he found that he liked this kiss even more, just because of the tenderness of it and the promises it so obviously held for the future. To Stanley, it was the signal that his life was definitely about to change for the better now that he had Zero.

Stanley stroked Zero's cheek with his thumb, a pleasant shiver sweeping down his spine as Zero's arms came slowly up to drape around his shoulders, his fingers trailing delicately over the back of Stanley's neck. After several long minutes, they reluctantly drew apart. Stanley pulled away a little and smiled tenderly down at Zero, who smiled just as tenderly back.

Then Stanley happened to glance over the top of Zero's head and he noticed something a few feet away from them.

"Hold on, what's…" Stanley started, frowning slightly as he reached over into the long grass, stretching himself out over Zero so he could grab what he was looking for. Zero twisted his head around to watch, not really minding as the muddy water seeped through his springy curls. After a bit of a struggle, Stanley managed to brush aside a small pile of loose earth and took hold of what looked to be several long thick blades of grass.

Unable to fully unearth the thing from that angle, Stanley reluctantly got off of Zero and crawled over to it, yanking at it firmly. Zero sat up in the puddle, his dark eyes fixed curiously on the back of Stanley's head as the earth suddenly gave and Stanley pulled out something large and round out of the ground. It looked like… an onion?

Stanley turned over onto his back and took a large bite out of it, swiftly confirming that he was right and that it was an onion, which he chewed a mouthful of gratefully.

"What're you doing?" Zero asked, standing up and licking his lips absently as Stanley swallowed his mouthful of onion and then held the vegetable out towards the smaller boy.

"Here, try this." Stanley said. Zero took the onion and looked down at in with a frown, his damp corkscrew curls clinging to his face.

"What is it?" Zero inquired, turning it around in his hands, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

"It's a hot fudge sundae, just eat it!"

Zero grinned at him and took a large bite, the loud crunching sound echoing deliciously in both boys' ears. Stanley had never been fond of onions before, but right now they were a bloody Godsend!

"Oh, man!"

"Good, isn't it?"

"That's the sweetest onion I ever tasted." Zero said, munching on his mouthful of onion as he passed the rest of the vegetable back to Stanley, who took another bite out of it and lay back in the muddy puddle again, staring up at the stars above their heads as he let the onion drop onto his chest.

For the first time in his life, Stanley truly felt at peace. He was in a small gully at the very top of God's Thumb, drinking muddy water and eating raw onions with his best friend Hector Zeroni, watching the starlit sky.

And to be honest, there was nowhere else in the world he'd rather be.

His eyelids were starting to feel really heavy now, but before he let sleep claim him at long last, Stanley softly started singing the old Yelnats pig lullaby, the words barely louder than a whisper as he let his eyes slide slowly shut.

"_If only, if only, the woodpecker sighs,_

_The bark on the trees was as soft as the skies,_

_While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,_

_He cries to the moon, if only, if only_."

Zero watched Stanley drift off to sleep with his usual unreadable expression on his thin pointed face, but even that wasn't enough to mask the burning flickers of emotion in his rich dark eyes.

Because right then, Zero knew that something had changed. He didn't know what, how or why, but he just knew it had. It was a weird light feeling, deep inside his chest. It felt like… something wrong had just been made right.

His lips curved upwards into a small smile and he moved closer to Stanley, sitting himself down in the mud beside the taller boy. Zero watched as Stanley's chest leisurely rose and fell as he breathed deeply in his sleep, and without thinking, he reached over and gently touched Stanley's face, brushing back his dark hair and lightly tracing over the small cut underneath his eye from where Zigzag had punched him. Stanley looked so beautiful while he slept. Not that he didn't look gorgeous to Zero anyway, but in his sleep he... He was perfect. There was just something about Stanley Yelnats that gave Zero a reason to keep on believing that everything would turn out ok for them both.

Warmth spread through his stomach as Zero leaned in and brushed his lips tenderly against Stanley's own before he settled down in the mud beside him, snuggling comfortably into the other boy's body heat in a way that felt so amazingly natural to him that he fell asleep with his smile still in place.

* * *

**Aww, I can seriously imagine that last paragraph, warm fuzzy feelings! ^^ **

**Oh yeah, just remembered what I was going to ask you people. Right, in the next chapter I was planning on making Stanley and Zero get a little more... um, _intimate_... so I was just wondering, how _intimate_ do you think I should make them? Bearing in mind that Zero is only fourteen in this, so it won't go all the way. I just want your opinions on what you think I should do, ok? Let me know and I'll do my best to write what you want :D**

**See ya next time! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, I think I need to say something that maybe I should've mentioned in the first chapter. I never intended this story to be the most original Holes fanfic in the world, ok? I know it isn't, and I've known that since I decided to write it. My intention was to create a relationship between Stanley and Zero that was believable and stayed in true form with and could easily fit into the actual film itself, and in my opinion I think I've achieved that. I took what was already there and I added to it, and to be honest, this was an experiment, because I've never written any fanfiction in this way before.**

**Yes, I suppose I could've rewritten the dialogue or even written it from different character's point of view, or I could've even just totally rewritten my own version of what happened at Camp Green Lake and done more with the characters. But I didn't. I know that some of you might find rereading the movie format to be a little boring, but hey, I knew that would happen right from the start. Each to their own opinions, after all. So thank you to people who have pointed out to me that they aren't fully onboard with the whole rewrite idea, but I started with this format, and it's too late for me to change it now. And I don't really intend to change it since this fanfic is so close to the end now. If you don't like it that much, well, I'm not forcing you to read it, am I? If it bores you, fair enough. Like I said, that's your own opinion.**

**So, to recap: This trial fic isn't completely 'original' as the movie parts outweigh my own additions. I know this, a'ight? Oh, and disclaimer: I own nothing of Holes, or it's characters, or it's plot, or movie dialogue or nothing. I just attempted to add a bit of romance to an awesome movie in an admittedly unoriginal way. Everyone with me now, yeah? Good.**

**Right, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to thank you guys who reviewed/faved/alerted the last chapter: xXSadistic BarbieXx, White-Tainted-Red, DaniMag-san, MonochromousRainbow, Stop Staring At Me, Agel222, August Mayhem, princessolivia3, John Faina, lifesong and vampsaf. THANK YOU! :D**

**Alrighty then, on with the chapter. OH, wait, warning for this one ^^ THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES INTIMACY. As in, PHYSICAL INTIMACY, people. I wanted to keep this T rating so it isn't very graphic, but just let me know if you think I should raise the rating to M, ok?**

**Read on and review for me, thanks! :D**

* * *

Chapter 7:

Stanley wasn't entirely sure how long they'd spent out on the lakebed and on God's Thumb, including both climbing the mountain and recovering in the small muddy ditch at the top, but at a guess he would've said about three or four days. He and Zero were so exhausted by the climb that they'd both slept like the dead right up until about noon the next day, but even then Zero had slept quite a bit longer than Stanley.

Zero was still asleep now, curled up in a ball on a dry patch of banking, surrounded by several half-eaten onions and a sploosh jar that had been refilled with dirty water from the mud puddle. He was breathing deeply, softly exhaling through his slightly open mouth and making the blades of grass in front of his face flutter with each breath.

Stanley had been awake for a while, and he'd moved from his sitting position beside his friend to wander around their surroundings a little, watching the sun rise higher and higher in the sky above his head. It was perfect chance for Stanley to have some much-needed alone time to think some things through. Y'know, specific things, like his growing feelings for Zero for instance.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that no matter how much he tried to deny or ignore it, what he felt for Zero wasn't strictly platonic anymore. Sure, it had been at first, back when the occasional bursts of warmth in his stomach were practically non-existent and easily ignored, but it had rapidly grown, changed and intensified over the small amount of time he'd spent with Hector Zeroni and now… Well, now he was well out of his depth. Stanley couldn't stop admiring Zero's gorgeous features and slender body, and he'd even caught himself doing it without realising a couple of times. His thoughts just didn't seem to grasp that Zero was his _friend_ and _only_ his friend, nothing more.

Oh, who was he kidding? Of course they were more than friends! They'd kissed, hadn't they? _Twice_. Friends don't kiss, especially not like he and Zero had back in D tent that day, and not even like the second kiss they'd shared right here on the mountain. The first one might have been harsh and urging, but the second one had been something softer and definitely more meaningful, and if anything, that had scared and confused Stanley even more than the other.

Stanley was beginning to think that maybe it was more than just affection he felt for his best friend.

And to be completely honest, he was starting to think that maybe it was something more than just hormone-fuelled teenage lust too.

It was… so confusing! Zero was a _boy_, so Stanley shouldn't even be thinking about him in any way like that. It just didn't seem natural, since guys were supposed to like girls, not other guys… but why the hell did it feel so right? Zero just felt so _right_ to Stanley, and he honestly couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather be with, boy or girl. It was either Zero, or nobody at all. Stanley didn't want anyone else.

So he fancied his best friend. So his best friend was a guy. So he wanted to do things to his best friend that he should probably be ashamed to admit to himself. So what? It was his life, and he'd live it how he damn well pleased.

Stanley smiled as he made his way back over to Zero, fully at peace with himself for the first time in his sixteen years of living.

"Rise and shine, onion man!" Stanley called loudly, pausing to pull up another onion from the ground and he took several large bites out of it, holding his canteen loosely by its strap in his other hand. Zero stirred, his eyelids fluttering a few times as he rolled over onto his back, squinting tiredly up at Stanley as the taller boy approached him.

Stanley made short work of the onion and took a final bite from it before he dropped the rest of the vegetable back into the long grass.

"You overslept." Stanley said. Zero slowly pulled himself upright and scooted to the side slightly so Stanley could sit down in the dirt beside him, frowning against the glare of the sun that shone down on his dusty features.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Zero asked as he drew his skinny legs up to his chest and used one hand to sleepily scratch at his head of corkscrew curls before he let his arms fall to rest loosely across his knees.

"Long time." Stanley replied, settling himself down next to Zero and unscrewing the lid off the top of his canteen so he could take a drink.

They sat in fairly companionable silence for a few moments as Stanley swigged from his plastic canteen, barely even registering the muddiness of the water any more. Zero stared straight ahead, the expression on his face one of deep thought before it slowly turned into a more resigned look and he lowered his gaze, turning his head slightly sideways so he could glance at Stanley out of the corner of his dark brown eyes.

"Stanley, I gotta tell you something." Zero said quietly. Stanley swallowed his mouthful of water and looked over at the smaller boy curiously. Zero had said the same thing before he'd passed out and Stanley had had to carry him the rest of the way up the mountain the other day. It must've been something important, or maybe even something _bad_, considering how Zero didn't seem to be able to look Stanley in the eye right now.

"What?" Stanley inquired. Zero fell quiet again for a few seconds, as though he was trying to think of the best way to word whatever it was that he wanted to share. His eyes were still downcast; his head carefully turned to face the front so Stanley didn't have a full view of his thin pointed face from where he sat.

"It's my fault you were sent to Camp Green Lake." Zero admitted, tilting his head back slightly on his neck. "I stole the shoes."

Whatever Stanley had been expecting Zero to say, that had definitely not been it. What? Zero stole Clyde Livingston's shoes? No way, that couldn't be right. It didn't make sense at all! Zero had been at Camp Green Lake way longer than Stanley had, so how did that work? Stanley sat in a somewhat stunned and confused silence as his hazel eyes darted over the other boy's back in disbelief.

Zero sighed heavily before he continued on with his confession.

"I didn't know they were Sweet Feet's. I mean, a lot of people had donated all their old stuff to the homeless shelter, and I saw the shoes and I just… I liked 'em." Zero said as he inclined his head a little, his brow furrowing thoughtfully at the memory. Stanley honestly didn't know what to say at that moment, so he just listened intently, brushing dirt carelessly off his hands as he tried to work it all out in his head.

"I didn't know they were famous." Zero explained. "Next thing I know, everyone's bugging out: 'The shoes are gone, the shoes are gone, where are the shoes?'. Walking down the street and I heard the sirens coming after me… I got scared."

The smaller boy sighed again and Stanley still didn't say anything in reply, visualising in his mind Zero fearfully sprinting away from the oncoming sound of police cruisers, then stopping and bending down to quickly remove the stolen shoes he was wearing before throwing them over the bridge under which Stanley had been walking at the time.

Stanley felt his lips quirk upwards and he shook his head in fond delight as he remembered when the shoes had landed on his head with a painful thud that had literally knocked him straight on his face. Back then, Stanley thought that it'd been fate that the shoes had fallen from the sky and hit him, especially when his father was trying to find a cure for foot odour, but now he was struck with the realisation that it wasn't anything to do with his father's work. It had been fate for Stanley and Zero. It was way too much of a coincidence that that single insignificant moment had been so Goddamn _significant_, and had brought them both right here, right now.

"I ended up getting busted the next day, lifting a pair of shoes from a Payless." Zero finished, briefly glancing at Stanley out of the corner of his eye once more and then facing straight ahead again, hardly daring to witness Stanley's reaction to the bombshell he'd just dropped. Against his better judgement, Zero had told him because he thought he owed Stanley the truth, considering how the taller boy had saved his life so many times in the past few days. He hoped Stanley wasn't too angry about it, but really, how could he _not_ be angry? He'd been sent to a juvenile detention centre in the middle of nowhere, digging holes every day for eighteen months for a crime he didn't commit, and Zero was the person responsible. If their positions had been switched, Zero knew he would've been a little annoyed with the other boy.

Stanley stayed quiet for a couple more seconds as everything finally clicked into place. Stanley's trial had been delayed due to Clyde Livingston's baseball schedule, so if Zero had been arrested the day after him, then the smaller boy must've been sent to Camp Green Lake no more than four weeks before Stanley had. It might've seemed like Zero had been at camp for a much longer time, but really there was only a month between them.

"It's destiny." Stanley said with a chuckle, his face stretching into a wide warm smile. Zero turned his head to meet Stanley's eyes with his questioning gaze and the taller boy laughed again, nodding at him. The corner of Zero's mouth lifted into a small smile in response before he turned away once more, his features partly relaxing in relief. But he still wasn't entirely sure that he was going to be forgiven that easily.

"You're not mad at me?" Zero asked quietly, summoning up enough courage to look back over his shoulder at Stanley, staring uncertainly up at the older boy from beneath the dark eyelashes that framed his darker eyes.

Stanley blinked, momentarily thrown, but then his face softened as he smiled reassuringly at the smaller boy and shook his head slightly from side to side. He should've been mad, but to be honest, Stanley didn't think there was a single person in the world who could be angry with Zero when faced with those wonderful twin orbs of rich chocolate brown of his. Well, Pendanski was probably the only exception, but he didn't count. Stanley was so caught up in those eyes that the only thing he could feel at that moment was total happiness.

"No, I'm not mad at you." Stanley replied. Zero still looked a little unsure, so Stanley did the only thing he could think of and leaned over, planting a light but lingering kiss on Zero's soft full lips. The smaller boy barely had time to gasp in surprise before Stanley pulled away again, reaching out to stroke the caramel skin of Zero's cheek with the back of one hand. "I could never stay mad at you."

Zero's face split into a warm smile, bringing up his own hand to cover Stanley's where it rested against his face, trailing his fingers down the warm pale skin of the other boy's wrist.

Maybe Stanley was right.

Maybe it really _was_ destiny.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by pretty unremarkably. Stanley and Zero drank murky water, ate almost twice their own bodyweight in onions and lounged around in the mud and grass, watching the clouds float by above their heads. It was a good feeling, not having a care in the world. Stanley would gladly stay like this up here forever, but it was only a matter of time before they ran out of onions, and considering how many they'd already eaten, Stanley bet he and Zero seriously reeked. His nose had long since gotten used to the sharp acidic scent of onions, so now he couldn't smell them at all.

Judging by the position of the sun, it was late afternoon, and Stanley and Zero hadn't really moved much from where they'd been sat earlier that morning, side by side in the grass a few metres away from the large grey boulder Stanley had set his unconscious best friend down on when he'd first found this place a few days ago. It'd turned really hot during the day so Stanley had removed the top half of his orange jumpsuit and tied the sleeves around his waist, his chest now only covered by the plain white t-shirt he always wore beneath his overalls. Zero seemed fine in the heat though, since his own muddied jumpsuit was still completely fastened up to his throat, the sleeves not even rolled up to help him cool down.

Stanley brought his canteen to his lips for a drink as Zero reached down into the grass beside him and unearthed yet another onion, brushing the dirt off it before he took a large bite.

They hadn't said much to each other since this morning either, but they found they didn't need to because it was comforting enough just being in each other's presence. Stanley really enjoyed being around Zero, and not just because of his feelings for the smaller boy. Zero was practically the only person who'd being willing to get to know the real Stanley and vice versa. Stanley had had no friends at all at school, and it was highly unlikely that Zero had had many friends on the streets, but they'd been brought together by a twist of fate and realised they'd found a kindred spirit. Really, they were both outcasts, but when they were together that didn't matter to them, because they had each other.

"What're you smiling at?" Zero asked, the unexpected sound of his voice interrupting Stanley's thoughts and the taller boy blinked, turning his head to look at his best friend. The smaller boy was staring at him with warm chocolate eyes, one side of his mouth tilted upwards into half a smile as he munched on his mouthful of onion.

Stanley grinned back at him, refastening the lid on top of his bottle.

"I was just thinking."

"About?"

"You, actually." Stanley admitted, brushing a hand sheepishly back through his hair, knocking off the battered red baseball hat he'd forgotten he was still wearing. A rush of colour dusted Zero's cheeks and he tried to hide it by ducking his head a little, letting his corkscrew curls fall around his face.

"Shut up, man." Zero mumbled, but Stanley caught sight of the pleased smile that spread across the springy-haired boy's features and he laughed at Zero's adorable embarrassment.

Zero mock-glared up at him and bumped his shoulder into Stanley's, knocking the other boy slightly to the side. Stanley just grinned and did the same back, his heart swelling happily in his chest as Zero let out a delighted chuckle before shaking his head fondly and returning his attention to the onion he still held in his hands.

He raised the onion to his mouth to take another big bite, but Stanley was feeling unusually mischievous and he darted forwards, biting a chunk out of the opposite side of the onion at the same time as Zero did. Zero's eyes widened in surprise and Stanley pulled back, snorting a laugh through his nose at the expression on the other boy's face as he chewed on his mouthful of stolen vegetable.

Zero just stared at him, his eyebrows raised in amusement.

"You're weird." He smiled. Stanley grinned at him through a gobful of half-chewed onion mush and Zero wrinkled his nose in distaste, turning away from him and trying his damned hardest not to burst out laughing. "And that's disgusting."

Stanley sat back in the grass, swallowing the onion as he reached for his baseball cap where it lay beside him and put it back on it's rightful place on his head.

"Oh, you love it really." Stanley chuckled, setting his canteen aside. He relaxed back in the long grass, bringing his arms up to cross them behind his head, tilting the brim of his hat down to shade his eyes so only his wide grin was still visible to Zero.

Zero's lips quirked upwards again before his expression sobered a little as he turned over onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow as he just indulged in letting his eyes roam unhurriedly over every inch of the attractive boy beside him, greedily drinking in as much of his features as he possibly could. His stomach flooded with familiar warmth as the minutes crawled by, and after a while Zero couldn't just look without touching any longer and reached out to gently trace his fingertips over Stanley's nearest material-covered collarbone.

Stanley twitched, completely unprepared for Zero's sudden light touch, but he didn't look up from beneath the rim of his hat just yet. He subtly shivered at the wonderful feeling of Zero's calloused fingertips ghosting over his collarbone before slowly trailing up the side of his throat and brushing against his cheek, tracing small circles across the pale flesh beneath his darker fingers.

Stanley licked his dry lips and tilted his head back, making his baseball cap lift enough so he could fix his gaze on the smaller boy beside him. Zero was biting his bottom lip nervously as he flickered his eyes to Stanley's for a second, then gave him a brief but affectionate smile when he realised that the other boy wasn't going to object to Zero touching him. Object? Why the hell would he object to it? Zero could do this for the rest of eternity if he wanted to, Stanley seriously wouldn't mind a single bit.

"Hey." Stanley said softly, smiling tenderly up at him as he reached out to do some touching of his own and trailed his hands up Zero's arms, feeling the sinewy muscle hidden by the baggy sleeves of his orange jumpsuit tense and flex beneath his fingers.

"Hey." Zero murmured back as he traced a single finger across the skin just below Stanley's bottom lip, making the older boy shiver more visibly this time. Stanley's left hand moved from Zero's arm to curl gently around the back of his neck, threading through the springy curls at the nape.

"C'mere." Stanley smiled, and tugged Zero's head down to meet his waiting lips.

Zero moved one hundred percent willingly and pressed their mouths together in a sweet tender kiss, purely content to share the light pressure of one pair of lips against another even though the angle was a little bit awkward, since Zero was kissing Stanley from the side. Stanley didn't mind the position though. Any kiss he shared with Zero was perfect no matter what angle it was at.

They kissed unhurriedly like this for what felt like an eternity, but really couldn't have been longer than a couple of minutes. Stanley's hand was entangled in Zero's corkscrew curls at the back of his head, holding the other boy close to his face so he couldn't pull away even if he wanted to. But Zero clearly had no intention of pulling away, and he had one hand resting on Stanley's chest while the other took off the taller boy's red baseball cap and threw it uncaringly away from them, giving him more access to Stanley's mouth now the hat was out of the way.

As brilliant and amazing as the slow kiss was, Zero couldn't help but want more. He cast his mind back to that first kiss they'd shared in the tent and a shiver caressed its way up his spine as he remembered just how intense and fierce it had been, and how it'd made the heat in his stomach burn so deliciously hot with desire that he'd never felt before in his entire life.

_"Yeah. I liked it. A lot. And… I think we should do it again."_

Those had been Stanley's exact words to him the day after that kiss, the day Zero ran away from camp. And Zero agreed wholeheartedly with that statement… so why not do it again right now? They were all alone up on God's Thumb with no one to interrupt them this time. It was the perfect opportunity!

It was at that moment Stanley decided to open his eyes and look up at Zero, and he instantly caught sight of the sudden determined and mischievous glint in those swirling depths of chocolate brown, but before he could even think about what that meant, Zero caught Stanley's bottom lip between his teeth.

Stanley groaned before he could stop himself, a sharp spike of desire jolting through him like a lightning bolt. Zero's eyes flashed triumphantly as he swiped his tongue over the slight indents he'd made in the soft flesh of Stanley's lip to soothe it. He'd known that would work, just like it had when he'd accidentally done it back in the tent that day, and it had produced the exact same exhilarating result.

The kiss changed so abruptly that Stanley barely had time to figure out why something as small as having his lip bitten had sent them straight from sweet and chaste to fierce and desperate, but at that moment he didn't care. He'd released his fingers from Zero's hair and now both his hands were holding the smaller boy's thin pointed face steady, using them to turn Zero's head to whatever angle deepened the kiss even further. Zero's own hands were twisted in the coarse material of Stanley's shirt, practically holding on for dear life as Stanley attacked his mouth like a starving man.

Zero groaned into Stanley's mouth, then he let out a noise that sounded pretty much like a cat purring as he felt one of Stanley's hands move away from his face and slip down his back, massaging his shoulderblades almost absently.

Stanley honestly didn't know what had come over him, but his mind was so fogged with his lust for Zero that had been increasing over the last few days that he just couldn't stop himself from darting his tongue inside Zero's open mouth to explore and memorise every dip and curve, spurred on by every little sound the smaller boy made in response.

It wasn't long before Stanley rolled them both over, somehow managing to keep their lips connected as he trapped Zero beneath him. Zero let go of Stanley's chest to instead trail both hands down the length of the taller boy's back, his fingernails snagging a little against the cloth of his t-shirt. Stanley groaned, breaking the kiss to curve his back, allowing Zero's fingers to run down every nub of his spine.

Practically all the blood in his body had fled down south, and the second Zero's hands slipped underneath the hem of his shirt to explore the warm skin beneath, Stanley reacted without thinking and pressed the lower half of his body down into Zero's.

Zero's eyes shot open at the feeling of Stanley's obvious hardness against his thigh and he gasped loudly, his entire body freezing rigid in place without meaning to.

That single noise from the smaller boy was enough to bring Stanley abruptly back from his hormone-induced stupor, and the way Zero stiffened in shock was more than enough to make Stanley realise exactly what he'd just done. Shame and embarrassment starting to swell through Stanley's chest and he scrambled to his feet faster than he'd ever moved in his life.

"Shit!" He swore, hurriedly backing away until his back hit the large grey boulder and effectively stopped his hasty retreat. "I… Oh God, I'm so sorry, Zero!"

Zero just lay there in dumbstruck silence for a second, Stanley having moved so speedily away from him that he'd literally blinked and missed it. He pulled himself up onto his elbows, staring over at Stanley questioningly. Stanley had to avert his gaze. He couldn't look Zero in the eyes just yet without jumping him right there and then.

The silence stretched on between them for several long moments before Stanley heard rather than saw Zero pull himself up off the ground and take a couple of hesitant steps towards him. Stanley immediately tried to flatten himself further against the rock behind him, terrified that if Zero got any closer then he wouldn't be able to control himself. Oh God, he wanted him so much. Too much.

Stanley inhaled sharply when a familiar pair of hands came into gentle contact with his chest, his heart pounding so hard in his ribcage that he knew Zero could feel every furious beat beneath his fingertips. That beautiful thin pointed face came directly into Stanley's view and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut to resist the temptation of those soft full lips hovering barely more than a few inches below his own. He had to hold himself back. However much he craved Zero at that moment, he needed to ignore it, because the very last thing he wanted to do right now was to force Zero into doing something he definitely wasn't ready for.

He heard Zero swallow anxiously, feeling his fingers twitch where they lay on his chest. Then those hands began to move, inching slowly down Stanley's torso, and it was Stanley's turn to swallow thickly, still not trusting himself to open his eyes yet.

But he didn't really have a choice a second later when they flew abruptly open against his will as Zero tentatively ran a trembling hand over the bulge between Stanley's legs.

"Z-Zero!" He cried out in complete shock, his body jerking at the feeling of being touched there by the person he needed the most. His fingernails scrabbled at the rock behind him as he held onto it desperately.

Stanley's eyes met Zero's, and the smaller boy's gaze flickered momentarily, dropping almost nervously to the ground before he lifted his chin again and pressed his palm a little more forcefully against Stanley. The older boy fought to stifle a groan from escaping between his gritted teeth, trying desperately not to arc his hips further up into that wonderful hand. God, Zero was barely touching him and already it felt almost too damn good to bear. He wouldn't be able to hold himself back for much longer if Zero kept touching him like that.

After a moment, Stanley thought he'd actually managed to restrain himself, but Zero clearly had other ideas. The smaller boy's face scrunched up into a scowl when he realised that Stanley was trying to fight the heated feeling that he knew was swirling deep in both their stomachs and he narrowed his eyes slightly in determination, taking the initiative and reaching around Stanley for one of his hands that were still gripping onto the boulder behind him.

Stanley jerked slightly when he felt Zero's free hand tenderly encircle around his right wrist, pulling his arm towards him and he barely had time to realise just what Zero's intention was before it was too late, and Stanley's hand was pressed against the exact same place on Zero as Zero's was on him.

Zero sighed blissfully, tilting his head back as his eyes slid slowly shut. Stanley's own eyes were so wide now they felt like they were about to pop out of his head, but he didn't care. All he could think of right now was that Zero was just as hard as he was, maybe even more so, if that was even possible.

"Stanley…" Zero breathed, his voice barely louder than a whisper. And that single sound was definitely Stanley's undoing.

It was right then that he literally stopped thinking, instead starting to gently knead at Zero's groin with his fingertips. The smaller boy's hands immediately fell away from Stanley at the feeling, and the sharp gasp he made was music to Stanley's ears that was quickly followed by more gorgeous breathy pants as Stanley grew a little bolder with every second that passed.

"S-S… Stan…" Zero stuttered, his breath hitching halfway through trying to say Stanley's name again as the taller boy cupped Zero in his palm, stroking him through the orange material. Zero's entire body twitched with pleasure and his knees trembled, threatening to fold beneath him. God, it felt so good! Zero had never felt anything like this before, and it was just _incredible_. And the fact that it was _Stanley_ touching him like _that_… It couldn't possibly get any better than this.

How wrong he was.

Stanley could feel Zero shaking, so he reached out with his free hand and pulled Zero closer to him, bringing the springy-haired boy flush against Stanley's body, still touching him through his jumpsuit as Zero gratefully collapsed against him, resting his forehead on Stanley's collarbone and moaning helplessly into his pale throat.

Taking advantage of their position, Stanley brushed his lips against Zero's closest ear, cheek and jaw line, savouring the taste of that heated soft caramel skin beneath his mouth. He worked his way down the side of Zero's throat, leaving a trail of sweet butterfly kisses before he buried his face into the junction between the smaller boy's neck and shoulder, feeling Zero's pulse pounding in the hollow of his throat.

"P-please… _Stanley_…" Zero groaned breathlessly, pressing his hips even closer to the taller boy, attempting to increase the delicious friction that made heat spread all the way from his head to his toes, burning him up from the inside out. Stanley let out a gasp of his own as he found Zero's thigh suddenly pushed against his own groin due to their closeness and he unconsciously bucked against him at the feeling.

Zero pressed his leg against Stanley again and the taller boy groaned in response, taking revenge by attaching his mouth to the soft caramel flesh of Zero's collarbone and sucking and gently nibbling at it, raising blood to the surface beneath the skin, creating a bruise-like lovebite for all the world to see.

The smaller boy's chest was rising and falling against Stanley's as he breathed shallowly, little moans spilling from his lips as the wonderful pressure in his abdomen steadily increased. His hands darted down the taller boy's back once more, sliding under the hem of his t-shirt to splay out across bare flesh, tilting his head as far to the side as it would go to give Stanley better access to his throat and shoulder.

When satisfied with the mark he'd made on Zero's dark skin, Stanley moved his face up from the other boy's neck to instead capture his lips passionately.

"Zero…" Stanley panted against his best friend's mouth when they eventually broke apart to breathe, "Zero, we can't do this."

He felt Zero's fingernails dig slightly into his back as he said that, as though the smaller boy was scared that he'd try to pull away from him.

"Why not?" Zero gasped in reply, unable to stop himself from crushing their mouths together again, completely addicted to the taste Stanley's kisses.

"We can't…" Stanley started to say, but Zero wouldn't let him finish a full sentence, interrupting him with his lips moving urgently against his whenever he tried to speak, "You're just a kid… we shouldn't… you don't know what you're doing…"

"I'm not a kid, I'm fourteen!" Zero practically growled, leaning back to glare defiantly up at Stanley through narrowed dark chocolate eyes. "And I know exactly what I'm doing."

And with that, Zero seized the hem of Stanley's shirt and tugged the material roughly up over his head, Stanley's arms flying upwards from the force of it. The removed shirt was just as swiftly tossed away to the side, and Zero's palms greedily set about exploring Stanley's bare chest.

"Oh God." Stanley groaned hoarsely, desire rapidly taking over the rest of his brain as he reached out with hands trembling in anticipation, fumbling with the buttons of Zero's orange jumpsuit, trying to unfasten them as fast as he possibly could.

Zero laughed softly at Stanley's clumsiness in his haste to undress him, but soon enough the muddied orange material was being pushed down his arms, baring his thin shoulders and the white tank top he wore beneath. Stanley quickly rid Zero of that shirt just as easily as Zero had his and touched the smooth golden-brown skin of his chest for the first time, loving the feel of it beneath his fingers.

Zero shivered at the touch, then almost cried out when Stanley's thumb teasingly brushed over one nipple, making him arch his back a little at the strange but fantastic sensation.

Stanley literally couldn't take any more. He needed Zero so badly that it actually hurt.

He lunged downwards, wrapping his arms around Zero's thighs and hoisting the smaller boy up off the ground. Zero's eyes widened to double their normal size and he yelped in shock, his legs instinctively locking around Stanley's waist and his arms coiling around the taller boy's neck to prevent himself from falling.

Stanley planted a small peck on the boy's lips before he turned around and lowered Zero down onto the nearest surface he could find, which turned out to be the flat top off the large grey boulder they'd been standing in front of, and then he climbed up onto it as well, moving so he was on all fours above his springy-haired best friend.

"You sure you want to do this?" Stanley murmured, giving the boy one last chance to change his mind. Zero stared up at him, looking deep into lust-filled hazel eyes.

"I'm sure." He nodded.

"Positive?"

Zero rolled his eyes and chuckled fondly, reaching up to bury his hands in Stanley's hair.

"Stanley, just shut up and kiss me already!" He laughed. Stanley grinned down at him and happily obliged.

Their mouths devoured each other as their hands frantically ran over every inch of skin they could reach. The rest of their jumpsuits were hurriedly unfastened and pushed down their legs, followed almost immediately by their underwear, kicking off their boots and socks so their overalls could fall into a pile at the base of the boulder, totally forgotten.

Stanley and Zero groaned at the first press of naked skin against naked skin, Stanley lowering his body down to lay the full length against Zero's. They kissed fiercely and Stanley began to move against him, grinding their hips together in a way that made them both moan loudly at the friction. Zero arched his spine and threw his head back, too caught up in the pleasure he was feeling to care that he'd just nearly knocked himself out when the back of his skull banged on the rock he was laid on.

As their movements turned faster and harder and their moans grew louder, Stanley reached down and entwined his fingers with Zero's, holding his hand tightly against the rock. Zero squeezed his hand back, drawing his legs up beneath him and using them to give him more leverage when he arched his hips more forcefully up into Stanley's.

Much too soon, the touching, kissing and friction mounted their combined pleasure right to the very peak, both of them gasping and moaning helplessly against each other's lips as they writhed frantically, their bodies slicked in a sheen of sweat that glistened wetly in the harsh sunlight the bore down on them from above. The dam finally broke, and pure white-hot ecstasy overwhelmed them like a tidal wave.

"Stanley!" Zero cried, his body shuddering uncontrollably as he was tipped straight over the edge into the most indescribable euphoric bliss he never imagined he would've been able to feel.

The way Zero shouted his name combined with just _that_ breathtaking expression on his face as he came was more than enough to send Stanley's body jerking haphazardly as he followed his best friend less than a second after him, shouting Zero's name in reply as his vision turned into nothing but a wondrous white haze. At that moment, Stanley was completely lost to the world, the boy writhing beneath him literally the only thing keeping him grounded. For the first time, Stanley felt whole, like he actually _meant_ something. Before all this, before Zero and Camp Green Lake, Stanley had believed that he was actually the most insignificant and unluckiest guy on the whole damn planet. But not now.

Because right now, the most beautiful pair of dark chocolate eyes were staring up at him, their rich brown depths swirling with so much emotion as they gazed at Stanley almost in reverence. As though, to Zero, Stanley was the very centre of his universe.

And to be honest, he really was. Stanley didn't yet realise just how strongly Zero felt for him.

But someday he would, Zero knew. Someday Stanley Yelnats would realise exactly how much he meant to Hector Zeroni.

* * *

"Hector, I'm glad you stole those shoes and threw 'em at my head." Stanley announced absently, staring up at the night sky above them that sparkled with thousands of bright white stars. After the intimacy they shared on top of that boulder a few hours earlier, Stanley and Zero had had barely enough energy to climb down, clean themselves off as best they could, pull on enough clothes to pass for decency and settle themselves comfortably on the muddy banking, just laying there together as they watched the sun set and the moon rise.

They were still sat there now, Stanley lounging back on his arms and Zero sitting in front of him between the taller boy's spread legs, resting back against Stanley's still bare chest as he chomped his way through yet another onion. The older boy had knotted the sleeves of his orange jumpsuit around his waist again, but had left his t-shirt wherever Zero had previously thrown it. Zero, on the other hand, had found his own tank top and had covered his thin chest back up with it (much to Stanley's disappointment), but he too had also tied his overalls around his skinny waist.

Zero twisted his head around to stare at Stanley with an incredulous expression on his face.

"What?" Zero asked, frowning. Stanley tore his gaze away from the stars and looked down at his best friend, reaching with one hand to stroke the mop of corkscrew curls that tickled his skin whenever Zero moved. He loved Zero's hair. It was so springy and uncontrollably curly but at the same time so incredibly soft to the touch. Stanley found that when he teased out one of Zero's many tight curls, it reached well down past the boy's shoulders, then sprang immediately back up when he let go, straight back into place. It was pretty amusing actually, and Zero didn't really mind, happy to just sit there and let Stanley play with his hair for hours on end.

"None of this would've happened." Stanley explained, "When I first got sent to Camp Green Lake, I thought that I got sent there because of my family's curse. But we're not even at camp any more! Y'know, we're on God's Thumb."

Zero shook his head fondly and turned back to face forwards again, bringing the half-eaten onion up to his lips and taking a large bite. Stanley's fingers continued to brush lightly through Zero's curls as the taller boy lifted his eyes skywards once more, lost in his thoughts.

"I just have this weird feeling… everything's cool." Stanley finished softly. Zero swallowed his mouthful of onion and tilted his head back again, his lips quirking into a small smile as he squirmed a little to get more comfy in his position leaning against Stanley.

"Yeah, same here." Zero admitted, shivering slightly as Stanley's fingers caressed their way through his mass of curls in a sweet way that made pleasant goosebumps erupt all the way down his spine.

"You got the same feeling?"

"Same feeling."

"It's a good one." Stanley smiled, trailing a single fingertip around the delicate shell of Zero's ear, enjoying the smaller boy's slight hitch of breath in response. They sat in companionable silence for a moment, both watching the stars crawl by above their heads. Zero ran the tip of his pink tongue around his lips to get rid of any traces of onion juice as he focused his gaze on a particular patch of stars.

"Y'know, those stars look like a shovel to me." He said, pointing the stars in question out to Stanley with one hand. Stanley followed the line of Zero's finger until he too was staring at the cluster of stars Zero was obviously referring to. Hmm, they actually did look pretty much like a shovel, albeit a weirdly shaped one.

And suddenly, inspiration struck Stanley, the shovel made of stars in the sky giving him the best and worst idea he'd ever had.

"Exactly…" Stanley mumbled to himself thoughtfully, a plan forming in his head. He started to smile, and that smile kept on growing until it was a fully-fledged wide white grin in danger of splitting his face in two.

"Hector?"

"What's up?" Zero answered, his head lolling back against Stanley's collarbone as he gazed up at the dark sky, absently counting the stars.

"I feel lucky." Stanley grinned, stroking his hand through Zero's corkscrew curls again. Zero twisted around in Stanley's loose hold to stare at him in confusion for a second before he let out a soft laugh, a wide dimpled grin of his own broadening across his features. Stanley laughed too at just how ridiculous his little statement had sounded even to his own ears. Stanley Yelnats feeling _lucky_? That was a definite first, considering how hard it was to be anywhere remotely near _lucky_ with the Yelnats family curse lingering over his head. But now something was different. Something had drastically changed over the last few days that he just couldn't put his finger on.

"The onions have gone to your head." Zero chuckled. He craned his neck so he could plant a brief light kiss on Stanley's cheek and then turned back around again, smiling as he bit another chunk out of his half-eaten onion.

Stanley stared skywards, his previous delighted expression sobering and becoming something more determined. His fingers ran gently down the side of Zero's throat, tracing absent-mindedly over the jugular vein that pulsed steadily beneath his calloused fingertips.

"What d'you say we dig one more hole?"

* * *

Surprisingly, coming back down God's Thumb hadn't taken anywhere near as long as climbing it had. In the early hours of the morning, before the sun had even risen in the sky, Stanley and Zero packed their burlap sack with onions and several sploosh jars filled with muddy water, grabbed their shovel and set off on their descent down the mountainside.

Maybe it was the fact that it didn't take as much effort descending than it had ascending, or maybe it was because they were stronger and well rested, and had food and water with them this time, but whatever the reason, they made it down to the base of the mountain in record time, with the minimum of injuries. Yeah, so Zero had slipped at one point and bruised his elbow, and Stanley had caught his foot on a small ledge and scraped his ankle, but compared to the several near-death experiences they'd had climbing the bloody thing, those tiny injuries were easily ignored.

Even crossing the vast dried up lakebed hadn't taken as long as they'd expected it to. They'd had basically no idea which direction the camp was, but once they found their way back to the overturned boat 'Mary Lou', Zero figured out which way they had to go, and though Stanley was sceptical at first, it turned out Zero's instincts were right and Camp Green Lake soon loomed into view on the horizon.

A huge dust cloud had been whipped up by the wind across the lakebed, and that helped to hide Zero and Stanley from view as they ran towards the camp. It was late evening now and the sky was a rapidly darkening orangey-pink colour. All the boys who'd been out digging their holes for the day would've definitely finished by now so the hole-filled area around the camp was completely deserted.

Stanley and Zero were running side by side through the dust that hung thick in the air, Zero holding the burlap sack and Stanley carrying the shovel as they sprinted around holes and scrambled over dirt mounds in their way.

They skidded to a halt and crouched behind a pile of dirt beside one of the many holes that surrounded them, their eyes darting around nervously, keeping a sharp lookout in case anyone happened to spot them. Stanley had no intention of being caught when they were so impossibly close.

"Ready?" Zero asked. Stanley nodded once and they set off again, darting out from behind the dirt pile and running forwards a couple more metres, Zero leading and Stanley bringing up the rear. They threw themselves down behind another mound, kneeling in the loose earth and peering cautiously over the top of it. Taking a quick glance around, Stanley suddenly caught sight of exactly what he'd been looking for, recognising a familiar white rock that looked almost like a face. Stanley had purposely set it on the dirt pile beside his hole back when he'd unearthed Kissin' Kate Barlow's lipstick tube, using the rock as a marker so he wouldn't forget which hole he'd found it in.

Stanley raised one hand and pointed the hole in question out to Zero. He'd filled the smaller boy in on his plan when they'd been making their way down the mountain earlier, since Zero had refused to return to Camp Green Lake unless Stanley gave him a damn good reason for it. Buried treasure definitely qualified as a damn good reason.

"You see right there?" Stanley panted, breathing heavily from running. Even Zero was trying to get his breath back, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he cast his eyes in the direction Stanley was pointing.

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"Go!" Zero urged, lurching to his feet and sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him towards the hole, hugging the burlap sack close to his chest. Stanley followed behind him, crouched over to make himself smaller, looking for all the world like an army commando trying to outrun imaginary snipers hiding in the dust clouds behind him.

They darted around a couple of holes in their path and then Stanley hit the ground running, sliding across the dirt and landing in the intended hole in a plume of dust a little less gracefully than he'd intended. Zero dropped down onto the dirt mound beside the hole, setting the burlap sack aside as Stanley reached back up to grab the shovel he'd accidentally let go of. More streams of dust were thrown up into the air as the wind blew around them, whipping Zero's corkscrew curls back from his thin pointed face.

"Is this the hole?" Zero asked.

"Yeah, this is it." Stanley replied. Zero frowned, his expression sceptical.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm positive." Stanley said, slamming the metal blade of his shovel down into the earth at his feet. Zero shook his head slightly as he watched, briefly glancing around to make sure they hadn't been discovered yet.

"It's gonna take too long, man. I gotta go find another shovel." Zero told him, scrambling to his feet. Stanley paused in his digging to squint up at the smaller boy.

"Alright. Be careful, though." Stanley warned, a little worried about Zero going into camp. It was already dangerous enough right now where they were, never mind getting any closer, and Stanley really didn't like the thought of Zero creeping in there on his own. He just hoped to God that his best friend didn't get caught by anyone, especially the Warden with her rattlesnake fingers, or Dr Pendanski with a grudge to settle against the smaller boy responsible for the bruises on his face.

"Alright." Zero nodded, giving Stanley a quick reassuring smile before he set off running in the direction of the camp, dodging easily around holes and dirt piles. Stanley stared after him until Zero's skinny form disappeared out of sight behind what looked to be either the Mess Hall or the Wreck Room, then he tore his gaze away and turned back to his hole, striking at the dirt with his shovel and upending earth onto the growing pile beside him.

Either it was later in the evening than Stanley had first thought or Zero was taking a really long time, because the sun seemed to set all at once and the sky turned pitch black, and the only things now lighting Stanley's progress were the big floodlights that always lit up Camp Green Lake at night. His muscles were starting to ache, since he hadn't dug any holes over the past few days, but Stanley refused to let that slow him down. He dug like he'd never dug before, working away furiously in the dimly lit darkness.

Stanley was starting to seriously worry about Zero when he heard light quick footsteps approaching and he looked up sharply, breathing a small sigh of relief when he saw Zero running back towards him with a shovel in his hands. The springy-haired boy drew closer and slowed to a stop, staring down in disbelief at the hole which had pretty much doubled in size since he'd last seen it.

"Whoa, man, you really been working!" Zero breathed in awe, and Stanley couldn't really blame him for that, considering how Stanley had never been one of the fastest diggers in the world. But now he'd put his mind to it, he found he was quite speedy with a shovel when he wanted to be. Maybe it was the fact that he was digging for treasure that motivated him more.

"Yeah." Stanley replied, realising for what must've been the very first time that he was actually proud of himself for something. Zero flashed him a brief glimpse of pearly white teeth as he turned the shovel in his hands so the blade pointed down into Stanley's hole.

"Coming down." He said, jumping down into the hole and landing easily beside Stanley. The taller boy carelessly tossed aside yet another shovelful of dirt as Zero started to dig alongside him.

"How's it going?" Zero asked.

"I don't know, I could be digging up diamonds and not see 'em." Stanley sighed, forcing the blade of his shovel back down into the earth.

"I don't think Kissin' Kate Barlow would've buried her treasure this deep." Zero said as he upended his shovel on the dirt mound. Stanley stopped digging, turning around to cast a critical eye around the inside of the hole.

"C'mon, we gotta make it wider."

Zero straightened up and paused with his shovel hovering a few inches away from the side of the hole, looking over at Stanley with his head tilted slightly to one side and a small frown creasing his features.

"How do we know one of her gang didn't already come back and dig up the treasure?" Zero asked, making a very good point that had already crossed Stanley's mind about a thousand times since they'd set off from the top of God's Thumb. To be honest, Stanley had no idea if they were actually going to find any treasure or not, but there was that weird feeling in his chest again that made him believe that they were definitely going to find something in this hole.

"We don't." Stanley admitted. Zero shook his head again and turned back to his digging as Stanley struck the side of the hole with his shovel a few times, making crunching sounds of metal against dirt.

But on the third hit, there was a very different sound that made Stanley's entire body freeze rigid and Zero turn around swiftly, both of them staring with wide eyes at the place where Stanley's shovel still rested.

"You hear that?" Stanley murmured, glancing over at Zero just to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Zero looked back at him, his dark chocolate eyes gleaming as a triumphant smile starting to stretch across his face.

Stanley drew back his shovel and struck the same place again, making the same dull thud sound as before.

"What's this?" Zero grinned as he moved to Stanley's side, and together they brought up their shovels and pounded them down against the side, the metal blades clanging loudly against the dirt and each other. After several knocks, a layer of earth fell away from the side of the hole and scattered around their feet, revealing a dusty old chest in the open gap left behind.

Stanley's heart was beating furiously with excitement, his hands shaking slightly as he moved forwards, gently pushing Zero's shovel out of the way before he crouched down in front of the opening and reached in to grab hold of the chest. Zero moved around to the other side to help him.

"We found it!" Stanley laughed delightedly. Zero laughed too and shoved lightly at Stanley's shoulder in excited anticipation, both of them scrabbling through the dirt to remove the trunk from where it was stuck inside the wall of the hole.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Zero said eagerly as they eventually managed to get a firm enough grip on the chest to yank it out from the gap. It came free easier than they'd expected it to, but neither boy cared at that moment as they let it drop heavily to the floor before they grabbed hold of the handles at either end and hoisted the chest up into the air for a better look.

Stanley was still laughing breathlessly, his hazel eyes roaming every inch of the chest, unable to believe what they'd just unearthed. Oh God, this was it! This was Kissin' Kate Barlow's long-lost treasure!

"This is it!" Zero cried, his grin wide and white, practically glowing in the darkness.

"What did I say, what did I say!" Stanley shouted joyously in reply, releasing the chest with one hand to quickly brush his now-free fingers through Zero's springy curls.

"Oh, man!" Zero grinned triumphantly.

Suddenly there was a burst of harsh white light shining directly in their faces, damn near blinding them as they squinted fiercely through the brightness to see the Warden and Mr Sir standing at the top of the hole, both in their pyjamas and wielding flashlights, the glaring beam of which they obviously had no intention of moving away from Stanley and Zero's stunned features. The Warden's grin was prominent on her freckled face as she stared down at them, her long wavy red hair flying loose in the breeze.

"Thank you, boys, you've been a big help." She smiled. Stanley's heart dropped straight to his feet at that, and he and Zero both gaped up at the adults in shock and fear at being caught red-handed with Kissin' Kate Barlow's treasure chest, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Oh God, they were done for now. They were in some seriously deep shit, and Stanley had absolutely no idea how they could possibly get out of it in one piece.

The Warden's tawny eyes glinted greedily as she moved her flashlight down from the boys' faces to the weathered old trunk they still held in their grasp, but then her expression unexpectedly faltered and she gasped loudly, taking a hasty step back.

"Holy – !" Mr Sir started to shout, staggering backwards along with her. "Get back!"

"Oh my God!" The Warden cried, her eyes so wide they were practically bulging out of her head. What the hell was that all about? Stanley's forehead furrowed in confusion as he switched his questioning gaze from the red-haired woman to Mr Sir, and then back to the Warden again. But they weren't even looking at him or Zero. Their matching fearful stares were fixed almost unblinkingly on the treasure chest, which caused a very bad feeling to abruptly swell in the pit of Stanley's stomach.

Against his better judgement, Stanley looked down at the chest.

And immediately regretted it.

"AAAH!" Stanley yelled in pure undiluted fear at the sight of about five or six yellow spotted lizards crawling over the top of the trunk, his scream causing Zero to jerk in shock, glance sharply downwards and let out a horrified shout of his own. At the back of Stanley's mind, the tiniest amount of rationality he had left told him that the lizards must've been clinging to the underside of the chest when he and Zero had pulled it out of the hole, but sheer panic and terror overruled that thought in a heartbeat. All he knew now was that he could count all eleven yellow spots on each lizard's back, and that was definitely not good.

"_Did you know that each one's got exactly eleven spots?"_

"_Yeah, man. If you ever get close enough to count 'em… you're dead."_

Without warning, a couple of the reptiles hissed viciously and leapt for freedom, landing straight on Stanley and Zero and starting to climb their way up the boys' heaving chests, hanging easily from the coarse orange material of their jumpsuits.

Stanley's breath came out in harsh pants as a single lizard crawled along his torso, it's tiny sharp claws scraping slightly against the soft skin of his throat. Across from him, Zero pressed his lips tightly together, trying desperately hard not to react as another lizard made it's way up to join the first that already balanced precariously on his thin shoulder.

His entire body trembling uncontrollably, Stanley turned his head around as slowly as he dared to glance fearfully at the lizard that was now coiling itself around the back of his neck.

The Warden tossed her hair back from her face before she looked over at Mr Sir, clutching the flashlight with both hands in a white-knuckle grip as she kept the beam of light directly aimed at the remaining reptiles that still rested on the top of the trunk.

"Well, get in there." She told him, "Pull it out."

Mr Sir shot an incredulous glance back at her in response.

"You get in there." He muttered. They both exchanged a look and then returned their undivided attention back to the two boys and the squirming, hissing lizards that crawled over their bodies that were now literally all that stood between them and Kissin' Kate Barlow's treasure.

"Fine, I'll just wait." The Warden said, watching as the lizard on Zero's shoulder hissed, it's small pointed tongue darting out and flicking against the springy-haired boy's earlobe, making Zero flinch and shut his eyes, biting down hard on his bottom lip. "It won't take long."

Mr Sir pulled out a packet of cigarettes from the breast pocket of his pink pyjamas, lighting one and bringing it to his lips, letting it dangle there as ash blew off the glowing end in the breeze.

"No, it won't take long." He agreed.

No more than a couple of seconds later, Stanley could just about make out the sound of footsteps approaching over the hissing of the lizards and Dr Pendanski walked into view at the top of the hole, coming to a stop beside Mr Sir and the Warden. He was smiling slightly at first, but when he trained his flashlight down into the hole below, that grin slipped straight off his face pretty damn quick.

"Oh my goodness!" Pendanski cried, his eyes widening almost comically. Stanley's breath hitched in his throat as the lizard leapt off his shoulder and another one crawled purposefully up his arm.

"Yeah, check it out." Mr Sir said. Pendanski inched a little closer to get a better look.

The reptile travelled with astonishing speed up Stanley's arm and across his chest, then it suddenly stopped, clinging to the material that covered the taller boy's collarbone. Stanley could feel the tiny pinpricks of pain as the creature's sharp claws dug into his neck, it's head pausing ominously right beside Stanley's jugular vein. Stanley's eyes were closed so tightly that it hurt, his lips pressed together as he held his breath in dread.

"Here we go." Mr Sir murmured, thinking that the lizard was about to go in for the kill and bite a chunk out of Stanley's throat. To be honest, Stanley seriously thought it was about to do that too, and that just made his pulse pound even harder next to the lizard's angular face.

"Hey, Stanley, guess what?" Pendanski called mockingly, unable to resist a parting spiteful shot at him. "You're innocent. Your lawyer came by yesterday to get you. Too bad you weren't there!"

What? His lawyer? That couldn't be right. Stanley knew his parents couldn't afford a lawyer, especially not now they were about to be evicted from their apartment because the landlord had had enough of the smell of feet. His mom had told him that in one of her letters. So how the hell…?

"Don't listen to 'em, Stanley." Zero whispered, trying to be reassuring as he stared at Stanley with his dark chocolate eyes wide and fearful, barely blinking as he watched the lizard poised to strike at the other boy's neck. And that didn't really make Stanley feel any better.

"At least now we'll have a body to give her." Mr Sir commented casually. A whimper left Stanley's mouth before he could bite it back.

"What about Zero?" Pendanski asked, smiling cruelly down at the smaller boy. The side of his face was still a nasty shade of purple from where Zero had hit him with the shovel, but Stanley felt absolutely no sympathy for the man. After the way he'd treated Zero, Stanley despised the councillor almost as much as his springy-haired best friend did.

A lizard hissed loudly in front of Zero, baring its venomous fangs. Zero eyed it apprehensively, moistening his dry lips nervously with the tip of his tongue.

"Zero was never here. We got lots of holes to choose from." The Warden said, her voice icy cold. Zero tore his gaze from the reptile and glared up at the red-haired woman with so much open hatred that Stanley hadn't even known that the other boy had had the facial muscles to pull off such an intense burning expression.

"D'you know how long I've been waiting for this?" The Warden murmured, Zero's furious stare having no effect on her whatsoever, "My granddaddy owned the whole lake, then it dried up. He drove himself crazy out here digging holes. Made me dig too. Even on Christmas."

Zero's dark brown eyes flickered back to meet Stanley's hazel ones, all hatred swiftly disappearing to be replaced with complete hopelessness.

And Stanley couldn't even think of anything to say to reassure the smaller boy, because that lizard still hadn't moved from it's position at Stanley's throat. It could decide to strike at any moment, and then it'd be nothing but a slow painful death for him. After everything he'd been through, was it really about to end with a single bite from a venomous reptile?

The lizard in question let out a low ominous hiss, and Stanley abruptly forgot how to breathe.

* * *

**Nearly at the end of this now, only one chapter left :( This will be the first multi-chaptered fanfic I've ever finished, but I don't want it to end!**

**Oh, and in response to Agel222, it wasn't so much as a 'handjob', rather 'clothed groping', hope that's ok haha :D**


End file.
